Breeding heifers by appointment with PGF2a and GnRH
by Richard Arnold Kinkie
A thesis submitted in partial fulfullment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE
in Animal Science
Montana State University
© Copyright by Richard Arnold Kinkie (1976)
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of inseminating a group of heifers without
estrous detection at a predetermined time after injections of prostaglandin Fga and GnRH. Sixty-eight
cycling Hereford heifers were divided randomly into five groups. Groups 1 through 4 were given 2
injections (IM) 11 days apart of 30 mg of PGF2α -THAM salt (PGF2α) . Groups 1 and 3 were injected
with 100 ug IM of GnRH 60 hr after the second PGF2α injection.
Groups 1 and 2 were inseminated at 72 and 96 hr after the. second PGF injection and groups 3 and 4
were inseminated once at 80 hr. Group 5 was a control, and they were bred at 12 hr after estrus. Forty
of the 56 PGF2α treated heifers (71%) expressed estrus after the second injection. The average interval
from the first and second PGF2α injection to estrus was 53 and 51 hr, respectively. Conception at the
synchronized breeding in the 72 and 96 hr and 80 hr groups was 43 and 14% (P=.04), respectively, for
all heifers bred and 63 and 19% (P=.01), respectively, for those that were observed in estrus. The
heifers that were inseminated twice at 72 and 96 hr all conceived to the 72 hr breeding except one
which conceived to the 96 hr breeding. The first service conception rates for all heifers bred and those
showing estrus were 21 and 32% for the GnRH groups and 36 and 48% for the no GnRH groups,
respectively. There were no significant differences in conception rates between the treated heifers bred
for 25 days by AI (63%) and the control heifers (66%) bred for 38 days- by AI. The conception rates
for the entire breeding season AI and 45 days of clean up were 100, 100, 100, 93, 100% for groups 1
through 5, respectively. S T A T E M E N T OF P E R M I S S I O N TO COPY
In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the require­
ments for an advanced degree at. Montana State University, I agree that
the Library shall, make it freely available for inspection.
I further
agree thht permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly
purposes may be granted by my major professor, or, in his absence, by
the Director of Libraries.
It is understood that any copying or
publication in this thesis for financial gain shall riot be allowed
without my written permission.
Signature
Date
//. / f -7/T_____ ;
BREEDING HEIFERS BY APPOINTMENT WITH PGF2a AND GnRH
W
RICHARD ARNOLD KINKIE
A thesis submitted in partial fulfullment
of the requirements for the degree
of
MASTER OF SCIENCE
in
Animal Science
Approved:
Head, Major Department
Grctuuetuc
v c a LL
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bozeman, Montana
June, 1976
iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I
wish to express pay sincere appreciation to Dr. p. J. Burfening
for his advice, assistance and guidance throughout my graduate program.
Also, appreciation is extended to Drs. D. D. Kress and E. L. Moody
for their advice and suggestions in preparing this manuscript.
Further
appreciation is extended to Mr. R. L. Friedrich for his assistance
with the computer programming.
A special word of appreciation is due to Mr. D. C . Anderson and
the staff of the Northern Montana Agricultural Research Center, Havre,
Montana for assisting me in collecting the data.
I would also like to thank the Northern Montana Agricultural
Research Center for the use of their animals and facilities.
Furthermore, my sincere gratitude is expressed to Mrs. Frankie
Larson for typing this manuscript and for guidance throughout my
college career.
j
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
V I T A ....................................
ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..............................................
LIST OF TABLES . . . . .
iii
....................................
v
LIST OF FIGURES......................
vi
LIST OF APPENDIX TABLES........................ ......... .. .
ABSTRACT....................................................
vile
viii
INTRODUCTION........ ..' ............ ...............
I
REVIEW OF LITERAT I R E ....................................
3
General ............................
Progesterone..............................
Oral Progesterone . . . ............
Progestogen Implants ....................................
Progestaglandin Fg^ ..................
3
5
9
17
25
MATERIALS AND METHODS................ ................... . .
43
R e s u l t s ..........................
Estrus .......................... . . . . . . ' ............
Fertility ........ ............................... . . . .
Subsequent Production ..................
....... ... .
47
47
50
52
DISCUSSION.............. ............. . .......... 54
CONCLUSIONS.
59
SUMMARY..............................
60
APPENDIX ..............
t o . . . . . . . . . .
LITERATURE CITED ........
. . . . . . . . . . . .
..........
.
........ ..
63
69
V
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE
Page
1
COMPARISON OF ESTROUS SYNCHRONIZATION METHODS / T T T ~
40
2
DESIGN OF EXPERIMENT. ................................
43
3
ESTROUS RESPONSE AFTER PGF2 ct INJECTIONS .
48
4
HOURS FROM PGF2ct TREATMENT TO ESTRUS. . . . . . . . . .
48
5
THE EFFECT OF PGF201 ON ESTRUS AND FERTILITY
IN BEEF HEIFERS . . .............'................... .
51.
THE EFFECT OF GriRH AND INSEMINATION TIME ON.
FERTILITY IN PGF2a TREATED HEIFERS.• . . . . L ....
51
6
7
........ ..
. .'
MEANS AND VARIANCE OF CALF PERFORMANCE WITHIN . .
TREATMENT GROUPS AND SIRE GROUPS. . . .
........ . .
53
vi
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
Page
I.
Possible mechanisms of prostaglandin Fga in luteolysis . .
29
2
Percent of the total heifers exhibiting estrus at a
given time after PGFga injection .......... ..
49
vii
LIST OF APPENDIX TABLES
TABLE
8
9
10
11
12
• 13
Page
INTERVALS FROM PREVIOUS ESTRUS TO TREATMENT
FOR TREATMENT GROUP
O N E ......
64
INTERVALS FROM PREVIOUS ESTRUS TO TREATMENT
FOR TREATMENT GROUP
TWO .......................
65
INTERVALS FROM PREVIOUS ESTRUS TO TREATMENT
FOR TREATMENT GROUP T H R E E ..........................
66
INTERVALS FROM PREVIOUS ESTRUS TO TREATMENT
FOR TREATMENT GROUP FOUR...........
67
LEAST SQUARES ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE FOR CALF
TRAITS....................
68
LEAST SQUARES. ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE FOR CALF
TRAITS WITH BIRTH DATE AS A COVARIATE . . ........... .
68
viii
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of
inseminating a group of heifers without estrous detection at a pre­
determined time after injections of prostaglandin Fga and GnRH.
Sixty-eight cycling Hereford heifers were divided randomly into five
groups. Groups I through 4 were given 2 injections (TM) 11 days apart
of 30 mg of PGFga -THAM salt (PGFgce) . Groups I and 3 were injected
with 100 ug IM of GnRH 60 hr after the second PGFgce injection.
Groups I and 2 were inseminated at 72 and 96 hr after the. second PGF
injection and groups 3 and 4 were inseminated once at 80 hr. Group 5
was a control, and they were bred at 12 hr after estrus. Forty of
the 56 PGFga treated heifers (71%) expressed estrus after the second
injection. The average interval from the first and second PGFga
injection to estrus was 53 and 51 hr, respectively. Conception at
the synchronized breeding in the 72 and 96 hr and 80 hr groups was
43 and 14% (P=.04), respectively, for all heifers bred and 63 and 19%
(P=.01), respectively, for.those that were observed in estrus. The
heifers that were inseminated twice at 72 and 96 hr all conceived to
the 72 hr breeding except one which.conceived to the 96 hr breeding.
The first service conception rates for all heifers bred and those
showing estrus were 21 and 32% for the GnRH groups and 36 and 48% for
the no GnRH groups, respectively. There were no significant differ­
ences in conception rates between the treated heifers bred for 25
days by Al (63%) and'the control heifers (66%) bred for 38 days-by Al.
The conception rates for the entire breeding season Al and 45 days of
clean up were 100, 100, 100, 93, 100% for groups I through 5,
respectively.
INTRODUCTION
Under modern management of beef cattle operations, labor conser­
vation is a very important factor.
In order to utilize the advantages
of artificial insemination within a herd, previous systems have
required many man-hours of observation for signs of estrus.
I
In addi­
tion to this labor, long breeding periods have resulted in additional
labor requirements for extended calving periods.
If estrus could be
controlled so that a large number of animals could be bred at one
time without estrous detection, a considerable amount of labor could
be saved.
Various investigators have recently reported that estrous cycles
in cattle could be controlled with prostaglandins (Lauderdale et al.,
1973; Stellflugetal., 1973; Lauderdale, 1972; Liehr et al., 1972;
Louis e£ al., 1972a; Louis et al., 1972b; Rowson et al., 1972;
McCracken _et al., 1970).
It has been shown that fertility of cattle
synchronization with prostaglandins is comparable to that of cattle
which are inseminated without estrous control (Lauderdale et al., 1974).
The purpose of this study was to evaluate different systems ■
which might enable an operator to artificially inseminate a large
group of cattle after estrous synchronization without estrous detec­
tion.
An evaluation was made of inseminating at different pre­
determined times after estrous synchronization with prostaglandin Fgo
(PGFgu).
The effects of using GnRH after PGFga treatment for better
control of ovulation time were also studied.
These various effects
-2 -
were evaluated by determining first service conception rates in the
heifers and by looking at their subsequent calf's performance up to
weaning time.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
General
The reproductive or estrual cycle is regulated by hormonal
interactions (Niswender et al., 1974).
The hypothalamus secretes
releasing hormones (GnRH) which act to release the gonadotropic
hormones, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone
(LH), from the anterior lobe of the pituitary.
FSH is secreted from
the pituitary into the blood, where it travels to the ovary to stimu­
late follicular development.
LH (also from the anterior pituitary)
travels to the ovary and acts synergistically with FSH to stimulate
secretion of estrogen by the follicle.
As the follicle grows, its
increasing secretion of estrogen triggers the release of a surge of
LH from the pituitary.
This high level of estrogen from the follicle .
acts on the central nervous system to bring the cow into behavioral
estrus, by which time the estrogen secretion is already falling again
(Short, 1972).
The LH surge is responsible for final maturation and
rupture of the follicle, resulting in the release of the ovum
(ovulation).
Ovulation occurs from 24 to 30 hours after the onset
of the LH peak.
After ovulation, the secretion of estrogen and
gonadotropins is greatly reduced.
At this reduced level, LH is
partially responsible for the transformation of the granulosa cells
from the ruptured follicle into luteal cells which secrete progesterone
Pituitary LH (Hansel et al. , 1973) or possibly LH acting synergis.tically with prolactin from the anterior pituitary (Niswender evt al.,
-4-
1974; Short, 1972) causes maintenance and secretion of progesterone by
the corpus luteum (ruptured follicle).
Progesterone exerts a negative
feedback on the hypothalamus and/or adenohypophysis to inhibit the LH
surge (Niswender etjal., 1974) or to block the positive response of .
the hypothalamus to estrogen and so inhibit the LH surge (Short, 1972).
The secretion of progesterone increases as the corpus luteum
(CL) grows, until it is at a maximum size on approximately day 12 of
the cycle.
It remains fairly constant until day 16 (Hansel et al.,
1973) at which time, in the nonpregnant animal, the CL regresses
rapidly.
The CL life is prolonged in several species which have been
hysterectomized (LaVoie et al., 1975; Wiltbank and Casida, 1956;
Loeb, 1923).
Furthermore, it has been found that the endometrium
controls CL regression (review by Melampy and Anderson, 1968).
It
has been postulated that the endometrium secretes a substance or
unknown luteolytic factor (ULF) which causes luteal regression.
The
CL essentially stops functioning as measured by,progesterone secretion
within 12 to 24 hours following the onset of luteal regression.
Once
this luteal regression has occurred, the animal is ready to repeat
the estrous cycle.
At any given time, it is quite likely that most of the animals
within a group will be at different stages of the estrous cycle.
goal of estrous synchronization is to put all animals at the same
The
-5-
stage so that artificial insemination can occur at one time.
In early synchronization experiments, exogenous progesterone
was given to animals for a period and then was withdrawn so that the
LH surges would occur at approximately the same time.
Progesterone
Christian and Casida (1948) first reported that daily injections
of progesterone suppressed estrus and prevented
entire treatment period.
ovulation during the
Treatment was started on the fourteenth day
of the estrual cycle and consisted of 14 daily injections of proges­
terone in corn oil.
All heifers treated with 50 mg of progesterone
per day came in estrus 5 to 6 days after the end of treatment.
It was later shown (Ulberg and Lindley, 1960; Ulberg et al.,
1951) that lower daily dosages of 25 or 12.5 mg of progesterone
usually prevent estrus and ovulation.
However, Ulberg et al. (1951)
found that follicles in the 20 to 30 MM range will develop during
tre a tm en t Es t ru s will occur
with these follicles ovulating when
the injection period is stopped.
It was shown that follicles under
the influence of prolonged daily injections of 12.5 mg would regress
and be replaced by. another follicle at 2 to 3 week intervals.
lower than 12.5 mg had little if any effect.
Dosages
The authors concluded
that progesterone inhibited LH from acting on the ovary.
Loy et al.
(1960) later postulated that progesterone inhibits the release of LH
from the pituitary, thereby preventing its action upon the ovary.
■6-
Other reports (Woody et al., 1967; Nellor and Cole, 1956;
.
Trimberger and Hansel, 1955) have shown that.progesterone injections
are effective in suppressing estrus and ovulation when they are given
regardless of the stage of the estrous cycle when begun.,
Willett (1950) injected 50 to 100 mg of progesterone into
heifers daily for 13 to 17 days.
After termination of injections,
the heifers were observed for estrus.
They were artificially insem­
inated once when observed in estrus and again 24 hours later.
pregnancies resulted from the 22 breedings.
Eleven
Other research did not
show the high first-service conception rate that Willett reported.
Trimberger and Hansel (1955) reported settling 3 of 24 (12.5%) of the
cows from natural service after dosages of 50, 75 or 100 mg of proges­
terone for 14 days compared to 64% first-service conception in the
control group.
Ulberg and Lindley (1960) used progesterone levels varying from
12.5 mg to 50 mg.
Estrus occurred 2.5 to 9.5 days post treatment in
86% (291/333) of the animals treated.
They reported that administra­
tion of 14 daily injections of progesterone had a depressing effect
upon the rate of pregnancy in animals inseminated during estrus
subsequent to treatment, with the higher dosages being more detrimental
They also observed that an injection of 0.5 to 1.0 mg of estradiol
benzoate 3 days after the last injection of progesterone initiated
estrus and caused ovulation, as determined by
rectal palpation and
subsequent slaughter, without a further reduction in pregnancy rate
from those animals given only progesterone.
The estrogen also elim­
inated much of the variation in time, in the onset of estrus, after
progesterone administration.
They reported that there were no
indications that any treatment affected productivity of the cow (calf
weaning weight, gestation length, birth weight, or sex ratio of
calves).
This work suggested that estrogen, when used in sequence
with progesterone, facilitated the release of LH to cause ovulation
in beef cattle.
Wiltbank e£ al. (1961) postulated that estrogen causes LH
release after finding that varying levels of estradiol valerate,
estrone or a natural estrogenic compound caused early regression of
the CL in more than 50% of the heifers treated.
work done by Greenstein et al. (1958).
This supported earlier
However, estrus and ovulation
were not consistent following this early regression.
Later, Wiltbank
et al. (1965) conducted trials using injections of progesterone alone
or in combination with an estrogen compound.
Two hundred-twenty
cycling heifers were synchronized with 24 daily injections of 20 mg
of progesterone alone or in combination with 10, 20 or 40 ug of
estradiol or 40 mg of progesterone with 20, 40 or 80 ug of estradiol.
Two other groups received the progesterone plus three injections of
estradiol on the 23rd, 24th and 25th days.
Synchronization varied
from 70 to 100% of the.heifers exhibiting estrus in a 4-day period.
However, fertility was significantly lower in most of the heifers
-8-
receiving treatment as compared to the control groups. Wiltbank et al.
(1965) concluded that the injection of estrogen with 40 mg of proges­
terone increased synchronization, but it did not with the lower 20 mg
dose of progesterone.
However, this may have been due to the time of
estrogen injection.
Under range livestock management systems, it is not practical
to inject heifers daily for the duration of the treatment period.
Nellor and Cole (1956) found that a single injection of 540 to 1120 mg
of crystalline progesterone in starch emulsion was capable of prevent­
ing estrus and ovulation in 179 treated heifers regardless of the
stage of estrus when treatment was given.
Estrus occurred 15 to 19
days after the progesterone injection in 89% of the heifers receiving
540 to 560 mg of progesterone and 15-to 23 days after the injection
in heifers given 700 to 1120 mg of progesterone.
in 95% of the heifers following this estrus.
Ovulation occurred
This treatment is of
questionable practicality because, of the wide range of time
(8 days)
that the treated heifers in a group would come into estrus.
Avery at al. (1961) used different treatments on three groups
of cows.
One group received daily injections of 50 mg of progesterone.
Another group received injections of 150 mg of progesterone every
third day and the third group had their corpus lutea expressed or
removed manually via rectal palpation.
There was no significant
difference in the first service conception rate of any of the three
-9-
groups after breeding.
Thirty-four percent of the 59 treated cows
conceived to first service as compared to 32% of the 53 in the control
group.
It should be noted that corpus luteum expression is not
recommended because of possible excessive hemorrhage in the animal.
Oral Progestogehs
Significant progress was made in practical estrus synchroniza­
tion in 1960 when it was found that estrus could be inhibited by
adding a synthetic orally active progestogen to the cattle feed.
Nellor et al. (1960) fed 6a-methyl-17aacetoxyprogesterone (medroxy­
progesterone acetate or MAP) to 77 heifers at various stages of the
estrous cycle.
Heifers were treated individually or in groups to
receive 0.44 to 1.76 mg of MAP per kg of body weight daily for 15 to
20 days.
Estrus was inhibited at all levels of treatment, regardless
of the stage of the cycle when treatment was started.
Ovulation
without behavioral estrus occurred at the 0.44 mg level and levels
above 0.88 mg resulted in complete inhibition of follicular growth
during treatment.
Estrus occurred 4 to 5 days after the end of treat­
ment with 0.88 mg. and the period from end of treatment to the start
of estrus increased as dosage increased.
Nelms and Combs (1961) fed 60 heifers at a level of 250 mg per
day for 14 days.
Each heifer was inseminated on the third, fourth
and fifth days following removal of MAP from the feed.
They were
-10-
inseminated without observing estrus, with a 40% conception rate.
This was not significantly different from the 60% first service con­
ception rate for the controls that were inseminated, over 21 days.
Hansel and Malven (1960) also inseminated without regard to
estrus after feeding MAP.
They fed 968 mg per animal per day for 10
days, then fed an additional 10 days at a rate of 500 mg per head per
day.
No animals came.in estrus during the 20 day feeding period.
Sixteen of 32 heifers came in estrus on the third and fourth days
following treatment termination.
All of the animals were bred by Al
regardless of estrus and half of them were injected with 0.5 mg of
estradiol at the time of breeding.
showing estrus ovulated.
Thirteen of the 16 heifers not
Only 22 animals were pregnancy tested after
insemination and 8 were found pregnant (5 of 9 showing estrus and 3 of
13 not showing estrus conceived).
The conception rate was equal in
the estradiol treated group and in the group receiving only MAP.
Hansel et: al. (1961) also used estradiol injections at the time
of insemination on half of 32 cows that were fed MAP for 20 days.
Sixteen of the cows came in heat and an additional 13 ovulated without
estrus.
All cows were inseminated 3 to 4 days after treatment and 25%
conceived the first service.
Again, the estradiol did not improve
conception.
Fahning et al.. (1966) reported 18 of 20 heifers fed 0.88 mg per
kg body weight per day for at least 11 days showed estrus 2 to 4 days
-11-
following last feeding.
They were inseminated starting at estrus,
once every 12 hours until ovulation.
The control group were insemin­
ated three times at 12 hour intervals, starting at estrus.
First
service conception was significantly lower in the MAP treated heifers
(26.3%) compared to the control group (81%).
Dhindsa ejt al. (1967) reported a 33% first service conception
rate in 119 cows fed 180 mg MAP for 18 days.
This was not significant
Iy different from the 37% first service conception among 60 control
cows.
Eighty-seven percent of the treated cows exhibited estrus
between 18 and 78 hr after treatment ended.
Dhindsa et al. (1967)
also inseminated three groups of heifers a different number of times,
after MAP treatment.
One group was inseminated once at 12 hr after
estrus, another group was inseminated at 48 hr and again at 72 hr and
ai-third group was inseminated three times, at 48, 60 and 72 hr.
The
conception rates were 25, 38 and 21%, respectively, and were not
significantly, different.
No explanation was given for the overall
low conception rates.
Zimbelman (1963) studied different dose levels of MAP, 93% of
the heifers that exhibited estrus of the 170 on test were in estrus
on the second, third, and fourth days after last feeding.
conception rate of all treated animals bred within
The average
7 days after last
feeding was 51%, but there was great variation.in conception from
trial to trial.
The conception rates of treated animals at second
-12-
service and of untreated animals were 76 and 74%, respectively.
No
apparent effect of MAP treatment was noted on the average gestation
length or birth weight of the calf.
The high cost and the varied results of MAP caused the search
for more potent drugs which could be effective when used in smaller
quantities than MAP.
Researchers found that halogehating certain
adrenocortical steroids produced a number of halogenated progestins
(Van Blake et al. 1963).
One of the halogenated progestins is 6-chloro^fc-17 acetoxyprogesterone (CAP).
Van Blake et al. (1962) first reported that CAP fed
at levels of from .055 mg to .66 mg per kg of body weight per day
for 15 or 20 days suppressed estrus during the feeding period.
They
found that estrus occurred 4 to 7 days after feeding CAP for 15 days
at the .055 mg and .11 mg levels.
to first service insemination.
Seven of eight animals conceived
Van Blake et_ al. (1963) later confirmed
their earlier results with a test using 20 untreated heifers and 69
heifers treated with varying levels of CAP.
They found the hormone
extremely potent in inhibiting estrus and ovulation.
Heifers fed .044
mg per kg of body weight were synchronized in a period of 4 to 6 days
after hormone removal. .First service conception rates in the 57
treated heifers was 61% compared to 65% in the 20 controls.
cycles were of normal length and fertilityi
Subsequent
-13-
Wagner et: al. (1963) also tested dosage levels on different
groups of heifers.
They used dosages without regard to heifer weight
and found that 5.0 mg of CAP per day did not inhibit cyclic activity
in 60% of the heifers treated.
inhibit estrus.
However, 10 mg and 25 mg levels did
The lower the CAP dosage was, the shorter the average
interval was between the end of treatment and the onset of estrus.
However, 90 to 100% of the heifers were synchronized within a 4 day
period, and the first service conception rates were 42 and 50%.
There was no control group in this study.
They also gave supplemental
exogenous estradiol (0.5 mg) two days after the last CAP feeding to
one group of 16 heifers.
These heifers exhibited estrus within a
24 hr period on the third day after CAP withdrawal.
First service
conception on these heifers was 50% which was not significantly
different from the 42% first service conception rate in the other
40 heifers given only CAP.
As with progesterone injections, CAP treatments began showing
lowered fertility in later tests. Wagner et: al. (1968) reported
lower conception rates in 187 CAP treated heifers compared to
controls (33 vs. 55%, respectively).
Hansel et al. (1966) used MAP
or CAP treatments on 832 cows and found that fertility of MAP treated
cows approximated that obtained in the normal controls.
CAP fed cows had significantly lowered fertility.
However,
Hansel est al.
(1966) went on to report that fertility with natural or artificial
breeding did not differ significantly and that fertility of MA.P and
CAP treated cows was uniformly high at the second post synchronization
estrus.
Melengestrol acetate (MGA), another synthetic progestogen, was
orally 300 to 900 times as potent as MAP and was found to be effective
in inhibiting estrus and ovulation in heifers (ZimbeIman and Smith,
1966).
Dose levels over 0.4 mg per heifer per day were successful, in
suppressing estrus (Young et al., 1967; Zimbelman and Smith, 1966).
Zimbelman and Smith (1966) fed different levels of MGA to different
groups of heifers for 15 to 18 days.
They reported first service
conception rates in the various groups ranging from 25 to 88%, with
an overall average of 42% on 72 heifers.
in this study.
There was no control group
As with the other progestogens, they found that the
average interval from the last feeding of MGA to estrus increased as
the dose level increased.
Roussel at al. (1969) found that after feeding 1.0 mg of MGA
per day for 14 days to 15 heifers, the first service conception rate
(47%) was not significantly,, different from that of 15 untreated
controls (40%).
Roussel and Beatty (1969) treated 30 dairy cows for
14 days on the same 1.0 mg level.
withdrawal was 93%.
only 26%.
The occurrence of estrus after MGA
However, the first service conception rate was
First service conception for the controls was hot given.
They reported that the total conception rate after the second estrus
-15-
was 60 and 53% for the treated and control cows, respectively.
This
indicated that MGA had no detrimental effect on the second service
conception.
The mean interval from first to second estrus after MGA
was 21.9 days, and there was no significant difference in calving
the MGA treated cows (no multiple births or prenatal losses, calving
difficulty and retained placenta not significant).
Chakraborty et: al. (1971) settled only one of twelve heifers
treated with MGA on the first service.
They fed I mg of MGA for 14
days irrespective of the stage of estrus when treatment was started.
Synchronized estrus followed MGA termination from 3 to 6 days.
This
low conception rate was compared to 7 of 12 control heifers settling
first service.
Hill e_t al. (1971) also reported significantly lowered
fertility in heifers treated with MGA.
They also found that the
time of the estrous cycle when feeding MGA started influenced synchro
nization and fertility.
When treatment started on day 4, 20% of the
heifers failed to exhibit estrus and when started on day 15 of the
cycle, 47% of the treated heifers failed to show estrus.
(
Laparotomy
'
■
following insemination yielded 9 cleaved ova from 14 heifers starting
treatment on day 4 and 5 cleaved ova from 12 heifers starting treat­
ment on day 15.
These compared to 8 cleaved ova from 9 heifers in
the control group.
Smith and Zimbelman (1968) gave injections of 2, 5 or 10 mg of
-16-
estradiol cypionate to 63 heifers during the last feeding or on day
I or 2 after the last feeding of MGA.
controls and were given only MGA.
Thirty-five heifers served as
Estradiol cypionate increased
overall incidence of estrus (93 vs. 76%), but it had a detrimental
effect on first service conception (20% in estradiol cypionate treat­
ment vs. 32% in those given MGA alone).
Another progestogen, 16-alpha-17-dihydroxyprogesterone acetophenomide (DHPA) was tested in the late 1960's.
As with the other
progestogens previously described, varying fertility resulted.
Wiltbank et: al. (1967) successfully synchronized 96% of a group
of heifers in a 48 hr period after feeding 500 mg of DHPA daily for
20 days.
The first service conception rate for this group was 26% as
compared to 54% in the control group ( P c O S ) . When 400 mg DHPA was
fed for 9 days with 5 mg of estradiol valerate injected on the second
day, 84% of the treated heifers were in estrus during a 96 hr period.
First service conception rates in heifers treated were not significant­
ly affected.
Wiltbank and Kasson (1968) furthered their study with 400 mg
DHPA daily for 9 days and 5 mg.of estradiol valerate on the second
day of feeding.
Estrus was synchronized in 95% of the 66 treated
heifers with 54% conceiving. Fifty-two percent of the 33 control
heifers conceived.
They went on to report that the same treatment
in lactating cows significantly reduced conception at the synchronized
-17-
estrus.
Progestogen Implants
Although feeding progestational compounds aided estrous synchron­
ization from a practical standpoint, workers felt that the amount of.
progestational agent given to individual animals needed to be gauged
more accurately.
Two majj'or routes have been used to administer drugs
in more accurate amounts. '
Sponges or pessaries which have been saturated with a measured'
amount of drug may be placed in the vagina of the cow, where the drug
will be slowly absorbed.
The sponges may be manually removed at any
time for termination of drug administration.
This method is used
effectively quite often for estrous synchronization in ewes.
Flurogestone acetate (SC9880 or Cronolone), a progestogen that is
often used in sheep, has been used in bovine pessaries.
Garrick and
Shelton (1966) first showed that Cronolone blocked; ,estrus and ovulation
for the 18 to 20 days during which pessaries were intact in a majority
of the animals treated; however, fertility was low.
Shimizu at al_. (1967) reported estrus in cows occurring within
two days of withdrawal of 18 day pessaries saturated with 100 or 200 mg
of Cronolone.
They reported no significant difference in first service
conception between control, cows (20/29) .and those treated with either
level of Cronolone (6/12).
They also, reported no significant difference
between treatments started on the fifth, tenth or,fifteen day of the
-18-
estrual cycle.
Wishart and Hoskin (1968) reported lowered first service
fertility in 55 heifers showing estrus of 66 retaining pessaries from
81 treated with 200 mg Cronolone pessaries for 21 days (43.7% compared
to 61.9% in the controls).
Sreenan (1975) and Sreenan and Mulvhill ;
(1975) verified these low fertility results after using Cronolone
pessaries on heifers for 20 days.
However, When treatment was re­
duced to 10 days and progestoerone plus estradiol valerate was given
intramuscularly at the start of treatment, conception was increased
to and above the normal rate.
Ayalon and Marcus (1975) reported the use of MAP in
pessaries.
for 14 days.
vaginal
They put pessaries with 250 mg MAP in I2 cows and heifers
First service conception was 60%.
The major drawback in the use of vaginal pessaries is that
problems arise in their retention.
There is a difference in the
retention of different sizes and shapes of sponges (Garrick and Shelton,
1966) and it has been found that retention is higher in cows treated
for shorter periods of time (10 vs. 20 days) (Ayalon and Marcus, 1975;
Wishart and Hoskin, 1968; Sreenan, 1957).
The other major means of administering progestogens in accurate
amounts is through the use of subcutaneious implants.
The implants
are made of a material that will absorb and release the drug, but .
which will, not be absorbed themselves once inside the animals.
-19-
Implants have been placed in the flank and brisket areas of animals.
Recently, most implants have been placed in thetear.
. Dziuk ejt aJL (1966) used silicone implants with MGA in cows
to test for effectiveness of inhibition of estrus.
They implanted
70 cows and after five days introduced five fertile bulls to the herd.
Implants were removed at various intervals up to 64 days from implan­
tation. •Estrus was observed in 45 cows (64%) between 36 and 72 hr after
implant removal.
Three cows conceived while implanted.
Curl et al. (1968) showed that subcutaneous implants of another
progestogen (norethandrolone, SC-5914, or NE) controlled estrus and
ovulation in cattle. .Thirty-two cows were divided into six treat­
ment groups.
The different groups were treated with varying levels
of NE impregnated,i polyhydroxy polymer implants.
Ten cows either lost
their implants or exhibited estrus during treatment.
Of the 22 treated
cows,which did not lose their implants and/or exhibit estrus during
treatment, 18 (81.8%) exhibited estrus within 48 hr after the 16 day
implant removal.
Of the 22. treated cows which were inseminated, 15
(68.2%) conceived at first breeding.
Treatment levels of 153.7 and
168.0 mg NE appeared to be most effective for synchronization as
compared to either ,-higher or lower dosage levels.
Woody and Pierce (1974) implanted heifers subcutaneously behind
the shoulder with norethandrolone and injected with estradiol
valerate starting on various days of the cycle.
They found that heifers
-20-
imp Ianted prior to 10 days postestrus had longer (P<.01) intervals
to estrus after implant removal than those implanted after 10 days
postestrus.
They also found in another trial that there were more
heifers in estrus when '.implanted on day 14 than those implanted on day
2, and more were in estrus after a 16 day treatment than after a nine
day treatment.
Conception at first service was 50 to 83% in all 9-day
treatment groups (averaging 73%) and was 83% in the 16-day treatment
group in which implant
insertion was 2 days after estrus.
However,
when implants were inserted 14 days after estrus and removed 16 days
later, no heifers conceived to first service.
No statistical analysis
was reported for these data.
Liang and Fosgate (1970) showed tiiafchydron plastic implants
with 300 mg of 17-alpha-fethyl-19 nortestosterone (Nilevar)
successfully
inhibited estrus and ovulation in cows implanted subcutaneously for
17 days.
Wiltbank et. al. (1971) used Nilevar implants on heifers for
either 16 days or for 9 days.
day of implanting.
Estradiol valerate was injected on the
Eighty-seven percent of 15 heifers implanted for
16 days exhibited estrus in 96 hr as compared to 93% of the 42 heifers
implanted for nine days.
First service conception was 38 and 61%,
respectively, for those implanted for 16 and 9 days.
This compares to
65% first service conception in the untreated controls.
In a second
-21-
group of heifers implanted for 9 days, 50% were pregnant at first
service as compared to 69% in the controls (P>.05).
Roche (1974a) also found a difference in conception rates,
between heifers implanted for different lengths of time.
In heifers
given progesterone implants and estradiol benzoate for either 9 or
12 days, there was no significant difference in conception, but
conception in these groups was significantly higher than in those
treated for 18 or 21 days.
Estrous response was low. in animals,
implanted on days 3 and 17, but high between 5 and 15.
In another
test, Roche (1974b) found that reducing progesterone administration
from 20 to 10 days and giving 5 mg. of estradiol benzoate on the day
of implantation resulted in increased first service conception from
57% in 15 heifers treated 20 days to 82% in 15 treated for 10 days
but also resulted in reduced estrous response (93% in 20 day treatment
vs. 73% in 10 day treatment).
Injection of 400 ug of estradiol
benzoate 16 hr after implant removal on a 10 day treatment did not
increase estrous response and lowered first service conception
(40% in 23 treated vs. 80% in 18 controls).
Ear implants of 19 alpha-acetoxy 11 beta-methyl 19 norpreg 4dnh
3, 2 dione (SC21009, Syncro-mate B or Norgestamet) have also been
shown effective in synchronizing estrus in cycling heifers.
Burrell
et al. (1972) reported 93 to 98% of heifers treated for 9 days with
5 mg SC21009 implants plus 5 mg estradiol valerate showing estrus
-22-
within 4 days of implant removal.
The number of heifers treated
and percent conceiving for the control and treated groups, respective­
ly, were 77 (65%) and 79 (55%).
There was no significant difference
in conception between treated groups and control groups.
Wishart
and Young (1974) also reported good synchronization in heifers given
9 day SC21009 implants along with 3 mg of SC21009 and 5 mg of estradiol
valerate at the time of implantation. They inseminated at 48 and 60
hr after implant removal and reported fertility comparable to controls.
Twenty cleaved ova were obtained from the 25 treated heifers as compared
to 21 cleaved ova from the 25 control heifers.
Burrell et al. (1972) observed that when heifers were implanted
for 16 days or implanted for 9 days and given 7.5 mg of estradiol
valerate, first service conception was significantly lower than controls
The number of heifers and conception rate in the 16 day treatment
group compared to the control group was 76 (32%) and 77 (65%) (P<.05).
The group of 55 heifers treated with 7.5 mg estradiol valerate and a
9 day implant had a conception rate of 40%.
This is compared to 55
control heifers with 64% first service conception.
Whitman et al.
(1972) found that when cows were implanted for 9 days and estradiol
valerate levels were increased from 5 mg to 7.5 mg, synchronization
increased but fertility decreased.
with 5 mg SC21009 implants.
They treated five groups of cows
The groups received different levels of
estradiol valerate at the time of implantation.
Of the cows in the
-23-
groups receiving 5 mg estradiol valerate 79 and 74%, respectively,
exhibited estrus within 4 days of implant removal.
With 6 mg
estradiol, valerate, 75% of the cows exhibited estrus within 4 days,
84% with 6.5 mg and 92% and 100% with 7.5 mg.
The conception rate at
first service for those cows bred at synchronized estrus
in treated
groups compared to cows bred for 21 days in control groups were 39%
vs. 47% and 74% vs. 63% at 5 mg of estradiol valerate, 56% vs. 66%
at 6.5 mg of estradiol valerate and 45% vs. 53% and 43% vs. 66% at
7.5 mg of estradiol valerate.
No conception data was given on the
6 mg estradiol valerate level group.
Woody and Abenes (1975) also concluded that the 9 day treatment
was adequate to synchronize estrus in heifers and went on to report
that estradiol valerate aided in causing early luteal regression.
This supported work done by Shelton and Casida (1970) and Kaltenbach
et al. (1964), who showed that low levels of estradiol may be luteolytic when administered late in the cycle.
Woody and Abenes (1975) found that fertility of heifers
implanted for 16 days was lower when implanted on day 14 of the cycle
as compared to those implanted 2 days postestrus.
This may be
explained by the observation that progesterone can induce luteal
regression in heifers when injected early in the cycle, with its influence
apparently decreasing with an increased interval postestrus (Woody
and Ginther, 1968).
-24-
Ear implants of SC21009, as with other injected or fed
progestogens (Wiltbank arid Kas son, 1968) , do not seem to be as.
effective in cows as they are in heifers.
Whitman et al. (1972)
showed that poor synchronization resulted in cows suckling calves
which were given implants plus 5 mg of estradiol. .
Ear implants seem to be a very, effective way of giving progesto
gens.
There is. only one drawback that may or may not cause a problem.
Woody and Abenes (1975) postulated that implants may not work com­
pletely when they are used during extremely cold weather.
There may
be less progestogen absorbed into the blood due to a reduced blood
supply in the capillary beds of the ear.
During cold weather, blood
is shunted by some capillary beds to allow greater blood flow through
the larger vessels in the ear.
It has been known for many years that the corpus luteum plays
an important role in controlling the.length of the estrous cycle and
the time of ovulation because of its major secretory product, proges­
terone, which inhibits the ovulatory surge of LR.
All of the
synchronization experiments previously discussed have dealt with
the administration of exogenous progesterone compounds which act to .
suppress the LR surge until the corpora lutea have regressed in each
animal within a group.
-25-
Prostaglandin Fgn,.
,
An alternate approach to synchronization is to remove or .
regress the corpora lutea simulataneously in a group of cattle so
that the natural progesterone is stopped and the LH surge can occur
without altering follicular growth.
Probably the first technique
using this theory was the manual removal of the corpora lutea.
However, this was found to be time consuming and somewhat dangerous,
so it found very limited use (Inskeep, 1973).
Various methods of.
chemical regression of the corpus luteum have been found.
Injections
of oxytocin from days 2 to 6 of the estrous cycle, injections of
estrogen, the presence of foreign bodies in the uterus, irrigation
of the uterus with iodine solutions or administration of LH antibodies all cause premature luteolysis in cattle (Roche, 1974b).
Few
of these methods have been incorporated into synchronization systems.
The use of estrogen for regression of the corpus luteum
(Shelton and Casida, 1970; Wiltbank et al., 1961; Greenstein e_t al. ,
1958) has been used effectively along with progestens so that treat­
ment time can be reduced to as low as 9 days (Woody and Abenes, 1975)
Oxytocin is luteolytic in some species at specific times during the
estrous cycle (Review by Melampy and Anderson, 1968) and has been
used to a limited extent in combination with progestogens for estrous
synchronization (Hansel e_t al., 1961).
to be beneficial.
However, it did not prove,
-26-
In the 19301s , a group of biologically-active lipids made up of
linolenic, arachidonic and pentaenoic acids were found (Speroff and
Ramwell, 1970). These compounds were first found in seminal fluid
and were thought to originate in the prostate; therefore, they were
named prostaglandins.
In later research, prostaglandins were
detected in or found to be released from most mammalian body tissue
(Lauderdale, 1974).
Loeb (1923) observed in the guinea pig that complete or almost
complete hysterectomy is followed by luteal maintenance for a period
of 60 to 80 days.
He also noted uterine removal in young animals
did not interfere with subsequent maturation of follicales or
ovulation.
In 1956, Wiltbank and Casida reported that hysterectomy pro­
longed the life span of the corpus luteum in cows and ewes.
Since
that time, it has been demonstrated clearly that the uterus plays a
role in the regression of the corpus luteum (Reviews by Caldwell et. al.,
1 9 6 9 Melampy and Anderson* 1968).
It was first suggested by Babcock (1966) that a prostaglandin
might be the agent from the uterus which has a luteolytic effect.
Subsequent work showed that prostaglandin (PGFga) injections induced
luteolysis in a variety of species, including cattle (Lauderdale et al.,
1973; Stellflug et al., 1973; Lauderdale, 1972; Liehr et al., 1972;
Louis et al., 1972a; Louis et al., 1972b; Rowson et al.,1972;
-27-
McCracken et al., 1970).
The mode of action by which PGF^ot induces
luteolysis is not known, however, Pharris et al. (1972) postulates
five possible mechanisms by which prostaglandin may work.
The
possible areas were PGFga could be exerting its primary luteolytic
effect are depicted in Figure I from Pharris et al. (1972).
Since the pituitary gland is important ii> maintenance of luteal
activity, it was first thought to be the target for PGFgu.
The
theory was that PGF2 a either totally blocked the pituitary or had the
ability to inhibit the luteotropin (Figure I, #1).
in different animal species.
Luteotropins vary
For example, LH is necessary in the
rabbit, prolactin in the rat and prolactin and FSH in the hamster.
PGFgoi' is not effective for luteolysis until corpora' lutea have
reached a certain stage of maturity.
PGF2 a given prior to day 4 of
pregnancy in the rat is not luteolytic.
100% luteolytic.
It was found that
However, after day 6, it is
ergocorine, which is luteolytic
in the rat by blocking prolactin release from the pituitary, is more
.
effective prior to luteal maturity.
1
It has also been shown through hormone assay that LH levels
are unaffected by PGFga treatment (Review by Pharris et al. 1972).
Also, ovarian arterial infusions of PGFga induce luteolysis at doses
which are ineffective when given systemically.
Thus it is suggested
that the hypothalamus and pituitary are not directly involved in PGFgainduced luteolysis.
-28-
Another mechanism by which PGFga could induce luteolysis is by
way of the uterus (Figure I, #3).
Prostaglandin is a potent smooth-
muscle stimulator and could cause the uterus to contract and release
endogenous uterine luteolysin, much as does oxytocin in the bovine.
However, treatment of hysterectomized animals with PGF2Q still causes
luteal regression (LaVoie ej: al., .1975) .
A third possible method of PGF2Q action would be a direct toxic
effect on the corpus luteum itself (Figure I, #4).
Reports indicate
that PGFga inhibits secretion of progesterone by luteal tissues
in vitro (Henderson and McNatty, 1975; O'Grady, 1972).
This suggests
that PGFga is capable of exerting a direct biochemical effect on the
luteal cell to directly inhibit progesterone synthesis.
It has been
postulated that PGFgct is not effective in bovine CL regression up to
day 5 (Rowson at _al., 1972) because the pre-ovulatory LH surge
saturates the regulatory units of the luteal cells and that it is this
bound hormone that protects the young CL (Henderson and McNatty, 1975).
Another possibility is that PGF2ct exerts an antigonadotropic
effect (Figure I, #2). Even though the pituitary had been eliminated
as a site of action, the interaction could take place in the circula­
tion or at the receptor site on the corpus luteum.
It has been found
that PGF2Q does inhibit FSH-Iike and LH-Iike activity of pregnant
mares' serum (PMS) and human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) respectively.
Studies have indicated that PGFga may cause a decreased hormone binding
-29-
1 = direct feedback on pituitary gland
2 = antigonadotropic effect
3 = stimulation of uterus to produce luteolysin
4 = direct toxicity of corpus luteum
5 = constriction of utero-ovarian vein.
From Behrman et al., Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 180,
437 (197). In. Pharris et al., (1972).
Figure I.
Possible mechanisms of prostaglandin F2 a in luteolysis.
-30-
capacity at the CL binding sites (Hichens et_ al., 1974).
It is sug­
gested by this antagonism to luteotropins that this is a possible
mechanism whereby PGF^a exerts its luteolytic effect.
The final.possible mechanism is the alteration of ovarian blood
flow (Figure I, #5).
Studies have been reported which suggest that
ovarian perfusion is reduced after PGF2 C1 treatment.
In rats, after a
single dose of PGFga, there is an immediate drop in blood flow of 50 to
60% of the control levels and lasting about 25 minutes (Review by
Pharris, 1970).
The mechanism whereby prostaglandins are luteolytic is still un­
known, but three hypothesis are supportable. These are gonadotrophin
antagonism, alteration of ovarian blood flow or a direct toxic effect
on the CL.
It has been found that PGFgo is not effective in regression the
bovine corpus luteum during the.first 4 days of the estrous cycle
(Rowson e_t al. , 1972) .
However, it is effective from days 5 to 16 of
the cycle (Lauderdale, 1972).
When PGF2 « is given from day 5 to 16, there is an immediate drop
in blood progesterone levels to about 50% within 12 hr (Hafs et al.,
1974).
Significant elevations of plasma-estrone and estradiol-17B
occur during the first 24 hr after treatment.
Luteinizing hormone
peaks at about 70 hr and estrus begins at approximately 72 hr with
ovulation around 95 hr (Hafs £t al., 1974).
The commonly used dosage is 30 to 33.5 mg of PGFga THAM salt
-31-
intramuscular.
However, it has been shown that single dosages of
60 mg, 30 mg or double dosages of 15 mg at 6 hr intervals do riot
significantly affect the time of ovulation after drug administration
(Stellflug et aly , 1975; Stellflug et al., 1973),.
In early experimental work, prostaglandins were usually given
by intra-uterine infusions.
A lower dosage (usually 5 mg) was required
for this method as compared to
tion.
intramuscular or subcutaneous injec­
It was found that intra-uterine infusion requires some degree
of skill to pass the cervix and is sometimes impossible in heifers
and may result in more variable response.
The treatment is time
consuming and involves risk of uterine infection (Hearnshaw et al.,
1974; Henricks et al., 1974)-^ Therefore, it was suggested that the
best means of PGF2 « administration was through either subcutaneous or
intramuscular injection.
Lauderdale et al. (1974) were probably the first to use
prostaglandins for estrus synchronization.
In their experiment,
cattle were divided into three treatment groups at four locations.
Treatment one was the control group, where the animals were observed
for estrus and inseminated during
an 18 to 25 day interval.
The
second group was injected with 30 mg of PGF^a TEAM salt if a CL was
detected through palpation or assumed to be present.
These cows were
then observed for estrus and inseminated during days I through 7 after
PGF2 «.
Cattle in the third group received the same PGF2U treatment
-32-
as group two and. were inseminated twice at 72 and 90 hr after PGF2 a
without regard to estrus.
After insemination, the percent pregnant
was based on the number inseminated for treatment one and two and on
the number either observed in estrus or having a CL formed and
detected by palpation from days I to 7 after PGFgU for treatment
three.
The percent pregnant and number inseminated for treatment .
one through three., respectively, were: 53.3% - 122, 52.2% - 69 and
55.8% - 86.
It was concluded that there was no significant difference
in fertility among the groups.
These successful results prompted other workers to use PGF2 0 t
for estrus synchronization. Roche (1974c) assigned 33 heifers between
days 5 and 20 of their cycle to three groups.
One group was the
control which was untreated and inseminated at estrus.
and percent pregnant was 8 and 73%, respectively.
The number
The second group
received 30 mg of PGF2 Ct, and animals were inseminated after observed
estrus with 6 (75%) conceiving.
The third group was treated as.was
group two, but they received only 20 mg PGF2 0 1 .
was 7 (70%).
The number conceiving
There was no significant difference in fertility
between groups.
The majority of the heifers were detected in estrus
within 4 days of injection.
Neither the dosage nor the stage of the
cycle when given influenced the estrus response.
-33-
Roche (1974c) discussed the impracticality of an estrous
synchronization program using a drug that was effective only from
days 5 to 17 of the cycle.
He suggested administering two doses
of prostaglandin ten days apart and inseminating after the second
injection.
This method should put all of the animals in a group
within the effective luteal period for the second injection.
The
heifers between day 5 and 17 should be in estrus approximately 70
hr after first injection.
They should then be at approximately day
7 of the next cycle at the time of the second PGF2 ct treatment,
and should again be responsive.
Heifers between day 17 and day 21 of
their estrous cycle should have normal estrus around the time of the
first treatment, and heifers at day 0 through 5 should have just
been in estrus before treatment I and would be at day 10 to day 14
at the time of the second PGFga treatment.
King and Robertson (1974) first tried this double-injection
method on 30 heifers and found that 25 (83%) were in estrus and
inseminated 2 to 4 days following the second injection.
25 (40%) conceived.
Ten of the
This was compared to the control group, where
13 of 15 (87%) were in estrus over a three week period and 7 of the
13 (54%) conceived.
Based on the total number of heifers 10/30 (30%)
conceived in the treated group and 7/15 (47%) conceived in the control
group.
There was no significant differences in fertility.
-34-
Another system of using PGFga'for synchronization without a double
injection system is to observe estrus and breed animals for. four days
and then inject the animals that have not been inseminated on the
fifth day with PGFga-
Then estrus observation and insemination could
continue for four more days.
_et al. (1975).
A similar method was used by Lambert
Cattle were observed for estrus and bred for 4 days,
then injected with PGFga•
They were then observed for estrus and bred
up to 72 hr after injection.
All of the remaining animals that had
not previously been bred were inseminated at 72 hr without regard to
estrus.
In this study, the total pregnancy rate in the PGF^a treated .?
group approached significance (P=.04) as being higher than that of the.
control group.
Progesterone treatments have also been combined with PGF^aEither progesterone injections or SC21009 implants are used from 5 to
7 days before PGFga
given.
This treatment causes animals that
would normally be within the days when PGFga is ineffective to be
grouped up just before the time of the LH release.
Although the
PGFga treatment may not be effective at this time either, the with­
drawal of progesterone allows them to proceed and be in estrus at
about the same time as those animals whose corpora lutea are regressed
by PGFga-
Fertility after this type of treatment has been reported
to be not significantly different from that of control groups
(Heersche ^t al., 1974; Van Niekerk et al., 1974, Wishart, 1974).
-35-
Heersche et al. (1974) placed 6 mg SC21009 implants in 50 heifers
and removed them 7 days later.
At this time, they injected each
heifer with 30 mg PGF2a and inseminated them between 12 and 18 hr.
after estrus was observed.
84 hr.
Forty-seven of 50 were in estrus within
Thirty of the 47 synchronized heifers exhibiting,estrus (63.8%)
conceived to first service.
This is compared to 13 of 20 (65%) in an
untreated control group conceiving first service over a period of 27
days.
Wishart (1974) used a 6 mg SC21009 implant for 5 days followed
by 3.0 mg of PGF2a administered transcervically on one group of 20
heifers and 3.0 mg of PGFgU alone on another group of 20.
Of those
treated with PGFga alone, 14 were in estrus over a 5 day period after
treatment.
Eighteen of the 20 given SC21009 implants plus PGFgO were
in estrus over the same period.
Of the 14 heifers inseminated after
PGF£a alone, 7 conceived to first breeding.
Twelve of the eighteen
inseminated in the other group conceived to first service.
Van Niekerk et al. (1974) injected 11,cows and 5 heifers with
150 mg progesterone on day one, 100 mg of progesterone on day 3 and
500 ug PGF2
analog (10180,996) on day 5 fdHowfed 12 hr later by
1000 i.u. PMSG (for a multiple ovulation effect).
The animals were
inseminated once at the onset of estrus and again 12.hr later.
heifer had a silent heat.
One
Of the remaining 15, 14 came into estrus
between 24 and 60 hr after PMSG and one came in after 96 hr.
-36Eight of the 16 animals conceived to first service.
Three of the
animals that failed to conceive were later found to be sterile.
A number of synthetic analogues have been developed by slightly
altering the chemical structure of prostaglandins (Binder et al.,
1974).
These analogues are many times more potent than PGF2 C1 in
causing luteolysis.
Some of the analogues which have been developed
are: ICI 79,939, ICI 80,996 and ICI 81,008 (or "Equimate").
It has been shown that ICI 79,939 is effective for synchroniza­
tion of estrus when given at a 300 ug level for two days intrauterine
(Tervit et al., 1973) or when given at a
(Dobson et. al., 1975) .
750 ug level intramuscularly
The drop in progesterone levels and increase
in estrogen resulting in estrus and ovulation occurs on a similar
schedule as that reported previously for PGF2 O1 (Dobson et al., 1975).
Cooper (1974) used two 500 ug doses IM of ICI 80,996 10 to 12
days apart on Holstein heifers.
Of the 175 treated, he reported 171
in estrus between 48 and 96 hr after the second injection.
Ovulation
was normal and first service conception was exactly the same in both
treated and control gropps.
He went on to report that the estrous.
response in sensitive animals following the second injection of
ICI 80,996 was somewhat earlier and more closely synchronized than
that following the first injection.
This has been a consistent
observation during experiments with both ICI 80,996 and ICI 79,939.
37-
Hafs et: al. (1975) divided 960 heifers and 392 cows into three
groups.
One was the control inseminated after observed estrus, the
second was injected twice with 30 mg PGF2 & THAM salt 10 to 12 days apart
and the third was injected twice with .5 mg ICI 80,996 10 to 12 days
apart.
The treated animals were inseminated once at 80 hr after the
second injection or twice at .70 and 88 hr after the second injection.
Of the heifers in the experiment, 51% of the 346 controls came in heat
and 67% of these conceived.
Sixty-two percent of the 291 inseminated
twice conceived and 62% of the 323 inseminated once conceived.
There
were 133 control cows, of which 113 came in heat and 69% conceived.
Fifty-eight percent of the 102 cows inseminated twice conceived and 57%
of the 157 inseminated once conceived.
These data indicated that there
was no significant difference between the fertility of control animals
and those treated with PGF2 a THAM salt or ICI 80,996.
Of those treated,
there was no significant difference between those inseminated once and
those inseminated twice.
These data also showed that PGFgU and ICI
80,996 unlike the earlier used progestogens, were very effective for
estrous synchronization in both suckling cows and heifers.
One of the most important advantages of a good estrous synchro­
nization program is tiieVelimination of the need for labor for estrus
detection.
Therefore, it is important to have all. of the individuals
in a treated group come into estrus at approximately the same time so
that insemination can be performed at one predetermined? time. This
-38-
would mean that the LH peaks would have to be practically simultaneous
within a treated group.
The first attempts to decrease the period of synchronization ■
and control ovulation utilized HCG injected at the end of the
progestogen treatments (Roche and Crowley, 1973; Graves and Dziuk,
1968; Lantz e_t al., 1968).
Variability of ovulation time was
decreased, but in some cases fertility was low.
It has been established that low doses of estrogens can cause
or speed up the release of LH.
Hansel jet al. (1975) used estradiol
benzoate to shorten and increase precision of the interval to estrus
after withdrawal of MAP.
However, Welch et al. (1975) used estradiol
benzoate after PGF201 treatment in cows and found no signficiant
difference in the time to estrus or conception rate as compared to
cows given only PGF2 a •
It has been shown that GnRH causes an LH release in the cow
similar to that'observed prior to ovulation (Kaltenbach et al., 1974;
Convey, 1973).
Kaltenbach et al. (1974) found that GnRH given 24 hr
after SC21009 implant removal resulted in synchronization of ovula­
tion.
They went on to indicate that GnRH given 60 hr after PGF^s
would also increase synchronization.
Roche (1975) supported this work by increasing synchronization
and hastening the time of ovulation with GnRH in heifers given
progesterone for 12 days.
-39-
Graves et al. (1974) observed that the fertility was not
decreased in cows which were given two injections of PGFga THAM salt
12 days apart followed by an injection of 250 ug of GnRH 60 hr after
the last PGF£a treatment. Insemination occurred at 12 hr after the
GnRH injection.
Graves et al. (1975) later gave GnRH after a single injection
of PGFgO which followed an SC21009 implant treatment.
They found
that GnRH shortened the mean interval from implant removal to ovula­
tion and reduced the variability in the interval but also suppressed
the occurrence of estrus.
Some of the past estrous synchronization studies are summarized
in table I.
T A B L E I.
COMPARISON OF ESTROUS S Y N C H R O N I Z A T I O N M E T H O D S
Drug
Daily
dosage
Dosage
length
(days)
Prog.
50-100 mg
13-17
Prog.
50-100 mg
Prog.
Number
treated
First
service
Conception
conception" controls
(percent)
(percent)
Animals
treated
Reference
22
50
—
H1
Willett (1950)
14
24
13
64
C2
Trimberger &
Hansel (1955)
12.5-50 mg
14
104
26
51
H
Ulberg & Lindley
(1960)
MAP
250 mg
14
60
40
60
H
Nelms & Combs
(1961)
MAP
.88 mg/kg
body wt
11
20
26
81
H
Fahning et al.
(1966)
MAP
180 mg
18
119
33
37
C
Dhindas et al.
(1967)
CAP
.044 mg/kg
body wt
--
57
61
65
H
Van Blake et al.
(1963)
CAP
--
--
187
33
55
H
Wagner et al.
(1968)
MGA
--
72
42
—
H
Zimbelman &
Smith (1966)
MGA
1.0 mg
15
47
40
H
Roussel et al.
(1969)
15-18
14
TABLE I.
(CONTINUTED)
First
service
conception
(percent)
Drug
Daily
dosage
Dosage
length
(days)
MGA
1.0 mg
14
30
26
--
C
Roussel & Beatty
(1969)
MGA
1.0 mg
14
12
8
58
H
Chakraborty
et al. (1971)
DHPA
500 mg
20
—
26
54
H
Wiltbank et al.
(1967)
DHPA
(E.V.)
400 mg
5 mg
9
Day 2
66
54
52
H
Wiltbank &
Kasson (1968)
Cronolone
pessaries
100 or
200
18
12
50
69
C
Shimizu et al.
(1967)
21
81
44
62
H
Wishart &
Hoskin (1968)
16
9
16
42
38
61
65
H
Wiltbank et al.
(1971)
9
77
65
55
H
Burrell et al.
(1972)
16
9
76
55
32
40
65
64
H
Cronolone
pessaries
Nilevar
implant
E.V.
SC21009
(E.V.)
SC21009
(E.V.)
--
5 mg
(5 mg)
5 mg (0)
5 mg(7.5)
Number
treated
Conception
controls
(percent
Animals
treated
Reference
Burrell et al.
(1972)
,
M
1
TABLE I.
(CONTINUED)
Drug
SC21009
(E.V.)
Daily
dosage
Dosage
length
(days)
5 mg
(5 mg)
(5 mg)
(6.5 mg)
(7.5 mg)
(7.5 mg)
Number
treated
First
service
conception
(percent)
Conception
controls
(percent
Animals
treated
9
Reference
39
74
56
45
43
47
63
66
53
66
C
Whitman et al.
(1972)
56
C
Lauderdale
et al.(1974)
73
H
Roche (1974c)
PGAga
THAM salt
30 mg
--
191
53
PGFga
30 mg
--
8
75
20 mg
--
10
70
10 days
apart
25
40
54
H
King & Robertson
(1974)
7
Day 7
47
64
65
H
Heersche et al.
(1974)
PGF2Oi
SC21009
PGF2Cx
1H=Heifers.
^C=Cows.
30 mg
(2 doses)
6 mg
30 mg
-42-
45
51
45
21
44
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This study utilized 91 Hereford heifers sired by 10 different
bulls from the Northern Montana Agricultural Research Center, Havre,
Montana herd during the spring of 1974.
All animals were managed
under the semi-range conditions which are common for northwestern
beef cattle production.
Estrus had been observed in all heifers
prior to the start of the study with daily observations and the aid of
an epididyectomized bull fitted with chin ball marker.
This was to
ensure that the heifers had reached puberty and were cycling.
Of the
91 heifers, 68 were cycling at the start of the study and those heifers
not observed in estrus prior to the study were not used.
The heifers
ranged from 388 to 446 days of age and had a mean body weight of 306 kg
at the start of the experiment (table 2).
TABLE 2.
DESIGN OF EXPERIMENT________________________________________
Avg.
No.
of
age
Treat­
ment No. heifers (days)
I
2
3
4
5
14
14
14
14
12
412
410
410
409
412
Avg.
(kg)
GnRH
PGF2n -THAM salt 60 hr post - Breeding
Day I
Day 11
post PGF2 0
PGF201
300
315
297
317
301
30
30
30
30
0
Wt
mg
mg
mg
mg
mg
30
30
30
30
0
mg
mg
mg
mg
mg
100
0
100
0
0
ug
ug
ug
ug
ug
72 & 96 hr
72 & 96 hr
80 hr
80 hr
12 hr after
estrus
-44-
The heifers were randomly divided within their sire groups into
five treatment groups.
The five, groups were assigned to one of the
five treatments as shown in the experimental design (table 2).
Heifers in treatment groups I through 4 were injected twice with
30 mg PGFgu -THAM salt (PGFga) intramuscularly (IM) 11 days apart on
May 3 and May 14.
The PGFga was prepared by dissolving it in sterile
water so that 5 ml of the solution contained 30 mg PGFga .
Heifers in
groups I and 3 received a 100 ug injection of GnKH intramuscularly
(IM) 60 hr after the second PGFga injection.
The GnRH dosage and
injection schedule was based on work reported by Kaltenbach et al.
(1974).
The heifers in treatment groups I and 2 were artificially
inseminated twice at approximately 72 and 96 hr after the second
PGFga treatment and groups 3 and 4 were inseminated once in approxi­
mately 80 hr after the second PGFga treatment.
Heifers in treatment
groups 5, the control group, received no PGFga or GnRH.
They were
observed for signs of standing estrus and were artificially inseminated
approximately 12 hr after estrus was first observed.
All of the heifers were observed for standing estrus at least
twice daily after the initial PGFga injection on May 3.
Breeding
was started on the control heifers (treatment 5) at this time.
Two
epididyectomized bulls, fitted with their grease halters or chin-ball
markers were used to aid estrus detection.
-45-
Two artificial insemination sires, Red Angus bull and a Black
Angus bull, homozygous for color, were used to breed the heifers.
The two different sires were used so that genetic markers in the form
of calf color would, determine which insemination (72 or 96 hr postPGF2 a) settled the heifer.
The sires were alternated within treatment
group as the heifers were inseminated.
In groups where heifers were
inseminated at 72 and 96 hr post-PGFgu treatment, the opposite bull was
used for the second insemination than was used for the first and any
heifers that returned to estrus were inseminated with semen opposite
that used on the individual's previous service.
Heifers in treatment
groups I through 4 were artificially inseminated for a period of 25
days and the controls were inseminated over a 38-day period, starting
at the time of the first PGF2 a treatment and ending at the same time
as the treated troups when all heifers had to be moved to high mountain
summer pasture.
At the summer pasture, all of the heifers were exposed
to Hereford bulls for 45 days.
All inseminations were performed by one
technician and any heifers that were inseminated more than once were
inseminated mid-cervicalIy after the first insemination.
The heifers were rectally pregnancy tested in July, 72 days
after the second PGF2 a injection, and again in October, 164 days
after the second injection.
The pregnancy tests along with color
information at subsequent calving were used to determine the time of
conception.
The birth date, birth weight, and weaning weight data
-46-
for the subsequent calves were also analyzed.
The data were analyzed
by the Chi-square test (Snedecor and Cochran, 1967) and ..by the
least squares method as discussed by Harvey (1960.
RESULTS
Estrus
After the first PGFga injection, 55% of the heifers were observed
in estrus.
This compared to the 71% that were expected.to exhibit
estrus after the first PGF2a injection based on their previous
estrous dates.
Seventy-one percent of the treated heifers were
observed in estrus after the second PGFga injection compared to 91%
expected based on their previous estrous dates (table 3).
The
intervals from previous estrus to PGFg01 injections for the individual
heifers are given in Appendix tables I, 2, 3 and 4.
The average time interval from PGFga injection to estrus
(table 4) was 53 hr after the first injection and 51 hr after the
second injection and the difference between the two injections was
not significantly different.
The percents of the heifers exhibiting
estrus at a given time are shown in Figure 2.
There was no signifi­
cant difference in the number of heifers showing estrus between the
groups receiving GnRH (68%) and those not receiving GnRH (75%)
(table 5).
After the second PGFga injection, 8 of 26 (31%) heifers that
returned to estrus had notably shortened cycles ranging from 6 to
9 days.
None of the control animals that returned.to estrus had
estrous cycles of abnormal lengths (%16 days or >24 days).
-48 -
TABLE 3.
ESTROUS RESPONSE AFTER PGF?ct INJECTIONS
No.
Treatment expected3
group
in estrus
No. oberved^
In
Not in
estrus
estrus
No. i
observed
In
Not in
estrus
estrus
No.
Not expected
in estrus
PGFga injection #1
Total
40
27(68%)
13(32%)
16
4(25%)
12(75%)
7
11
12
9
39(76%)
6
2
I
3
12(24%)
I
I
I
2
5
0
I
0
0
1(20%)
I
0
I
2
4(80%)
PGFga injection #2
I
2
3
4
Total
13
13
13
12
51
aNumber expected based on the number of heifers between days 5 and
21 of their cycle based on; previous estrus observed.
"Number observed based on the number of heifers exhibiting estrus
within 96 hr after PGF2 a injection.
TABLE 4.
HOURS FROM PGFga TREATMENT TO ESTRUS
Time from
PGFga to estrus.
in hours
46
52
58
65
70
94
Mean "t S.D.
PGF2a injection # I
No.
Total
heifers
heifers
9
7
6
4
3
2
52.9 '- 15.7
9
16
22
26
29
31
PGFga injection # 2
No.
heifers
Total
heifers
26
10
2
0
I
I
26
36
38
38
39
40
51.2 - 13 .8
Percent in estrus
-49-
50 -
40 -
20
-
III
I
I
II
46
52
58
65
70
Hours from PGF2 Ct injection
94
PGF2Ct injection #1
PGF2Ct injection #2
Based on the total number exhibiting estrus,
Figure 2.
Percent of the total heifers exhibiting estrus at a
given time3 after PGF2U injection.
-50-
Fertility
Conception at the synchronized breeding in the 72 and 96 hr postPGF2Ct and 80 hr post-PGF2a treatments was 43 and 14% (P=.04) , respec­
tively, for all heifers bred and 63 and 19% (P=.01), respectively, for
those that were observed in estrus (table 6).
All calves born to cows
in the 72 and 96 hr groups were sired by the bull used at the 72 hr
breeding except one based on the color of the calf at birth.
This calf
was conceived at the 96 hr breeding and its dam was in estrus at 96 hr
POSt-PGF2O-
None of the heifers that did not exhibit estrus but were
inseminated conceived.
There was no significant difference between those heifers bred at
72 and 96 hr after PGF201 ,injection and the heifers that were bred the
first time in the control group, whose conception rate was 50% (table 5).
No significant differences in first service conception rate was
noted between the groups receiving and those not receiving GnRH (table
6).
First service conception in the GnRH was 21% and 36%, respectively,
for all heifers inseminated and 32% and 43%, respectively, on the basis
of those heifers exhibiting estrus.
There was no significant difference in Al breeding period con­
ception rates between the four treated groups, which were inseminated
over a period of 25 days and the control group which was inseminated
over a period of 38 days (table 5).
There was also no significant
difference in the conception rates among the groups over the entire
breeding season (Al and cleanup period) (table 5).
-51-
TABLE 5.
THE EFFECT OF PGF2cl ON ESTRUS AND FERTILITY IN BEEF HEIFERS
Treatment
group
No. of
heifers
No. in
estrus (7,,)
I
2
3
4
5
14
14
14
14
12
7(50)1
12(86)1
12(86)1
9(64)1
12(100)
No. pregnant (%)
Synchronized
Al
estrus
period
Breeding
season
4(27)2
8(57)
2(14)
2(14)
6(50)
14(100)2
14(100)
14(100)
13( 93)
12(100)
(57)3
(67)
(17)
(22)
10(71)2
10(71)
9(64)
6(43)
8(66)
!■Exhibiting estrus 0-96 hr after BGFga injection.
2Percent pregnant based on all heifers bred.
3Percent pregnant based on heifers in estrus after PGF g a*
TABLE 6.
THE EFFECT OF GnRH AND INSEMINATION TIME ON FERTILITY IN
PGF2a TREATED HEIFERS
Treatment
No. of
heifers
No. in
estrus (7o)
N o . pregnant (%)
Al
Breeding
Synchronized
season
period
estrus
GnRH
No GnRH
28
28
19(68)
21(75)
6(21)1 (32)2
10(36)
(48)
19(68)1
16(57)
28(100)1
27( 96)
Inseminated
72 & 96 hr
28
19(68)
12(43)* (63)*
20(71)
28(100)
Inseminated
80 hr
28
21(75)
4(14)b (19)b
15(54)
27( 96)
!Percent pregnant based on all heifers bred.
^Percent pregnant based on heifers in estrus after PGF2 0 1 .
a^Means with different superscripts are significantly different.
52-
Subsequent Production
Average birth dates were significantly later in treatment groups
3 and 4 than in the controls (Pc.05).
There was no significant
difference in birth dates between groups I, 2 and 5 (table 7).
The
average birth date for the cleanup Hereford sires was significantly
later than those for either the Black Angus or Red Angus sires (Pc.01)
(table 7).
There was no significant difference in birth weight due to PGFga
treatment.
The calves sired by the Red Angus bull had significantly
lower birth weights than either the Black Angus or Hereford sired
calves (Pc.01) (table 7).
There was no significant difference in average weaning weight
between the five treatment groups (table 7).
The Hereford sired
calves were significantly lighter at weaning than either the Black
Angus or Red Angus sired calves (P<.01) for actual weaning weight
(table 7) (Appendix table 5) and for weaning weights adjusted for age
(Appendix table 6).
The average weaning weights adjusted to a common
birth date for the Red Angus, Black Angus and Hereford sired calves '
were 192.5 kg, 197.2 kg and 174.3 kg, respectively.
weaning .was 201 days.
The average age at
-53-
TABLE 7.
MEANS AND VARIANCE OF CALF PERFORMANCE WITHIN TREATMENT
GROUPS AND SIRE GROUPS
Birth wt.
(kg)
Actual
weaning wt.
(kg)
32.1 t .82*
195.i t 6.0*
3.5ab
33.0 t .82a
187.0 t 6.Ia
3.5b '
32.6 t .82*
185.1 - 6.Oa
3.6b
33.5 t .82*
187.2 t 6.2*
3.6*
30.6 t .86*
187.1 - 6.3*
17
59.2 t 2.9a
30.1 t .68a
201.9 t 5.Ia
Black
22
64.1
+
2.6*
33.1 t .64b
203.7 t 4.6*
Cleanup
20
98.5
2.7b
33.8 t .64b
159.3 - 4.7b
Treatment
group
No. of
calves
Birth date
(day of year)
I
12
73.0 + 3.5ab
2
12
72.7
3
12
79.5
4
12
79.3
5
11
65.2
Red
+
+
+
+
Sire
+
a^Means with different superscripts are significantly different.
DISCUS S I O N
One would have expected 100% of the heifers to show estrus after
the second K ^ c t injection.
However, due to short cycles after the
first injection, only 91% of the heifers would have been between day
5 and 21 of their cycle.
PGFga injection.
Only 71% exhibited estrus after the second
There is no explanation for the other 29% not exhibit
ing estrus, but there may have been variation in their cycles also.
The percentage in estrus after the second PGF2 a injection agrees with
the 83 and 64% reported by King and Robertson (1974) and Inskeep et al
(1975), respectively, after a two-injection sequence similar to the
one used in this study.
The PGF2 a was expected to regress the CL's in treated heifers,
between days 5 and 16; however, those heifers between days 16 and 21
of their cycle should have expressed estrus naturally at the same time
as the heifers responding to PGF2 OL.
It was found that the 11-day interval between PGF2 a injections
may not be as effective as the 10-day interval.
Some of the heifers
that were on day 5 of their estrus cycle during the first injection
did not show estrus after PGF2 a injection.
These heifers should have
been on day 16 of their cycle for the second PGF2 a injection.
Heifers on day 16, like day 5, also had varied estrous response.
Of
the heifers that were thought to be on day 5 of their estrous cycle
at the time of .PGFg a injection, 1/7 (14%) exhibited estrus and 5/7
(71%) of the heifers on day 16 of their cycle exhibted estrus after .
-55-
injection.
If the 10 day interval had been used,, the heifers on
day 5 of their cycle for the first injection would have been on day
15 when the CL should have been regressed by the second injection if
their CL had not been regressed by the first PGFga injection.
Additional problems may be encountered in heifers, which commonly
have less than a 21 day cycle (Foote, 1974).
For example, if a
heifer has only an 18 day cycle, PGF2 a may be effective in regressing
the CL only between days 5 and 13.
This may explain why some of the
heifers that were expected to exhibit estrus after the PGFga , did not.
After the second PGF2 a -treatment, 8 of the 26 heifers that
returned to estrus had cycles ranging from 6 to 9 days.
These animals
exhibited estrus at approximately the time they would have been expect­
ed to if they had not been treated.
It is postulated that PGFga may
not have regressed the CL in these heifers.
The average time interval from PGFgot injection to estrus was
53 hr and 51 hr, respectively, for the first and second treatments.
However, the actual mean for the second treatment may have been
lower because at the time of the first estrus check in the morning
at 46 hr post-PGFga , 26 (65%) of the heifers were already exhibiting
estrus (table 3).
These intervals to estrus were less than 70 hr
expected from previous reports (Lauderdale et. al., 1974; Stellflug
et al., 1973).
Having most of the heifers conceive to the 72 hr
insemination was expected because of the average time of estrus after
-56
the second PGF2 a treatment (51 hr)...
The optimum time for insemina­
tion in the cow is approximately 12 hr before the end of estrus
(McLaren, 1974).
This is approximately 6 hr after estrus begins.
Fertility is then fairly high until about 6 hr after estrus (about 24
hr after starting), at which time it drops very rapidly.
The heifers
that were bred at 72 hr were approximately 21 hr after the start of
estrus and within the period when fertility was high.
However, those
that were inseminated at 80 and 96 hr (approximately 29 and 45 hr after
estrus began) were bred after fertility had dropped..
It has been reported that the LH peak occurs from 67 to 74 hr
after PGFgg injection (Hafs e£ aJL. , 1974; Stellflug et al., 1973).
This is usually coincident with the onset of estrus (Inskeep, 1973)
with ovulation normally occurring 24 to 30 hr after the LH peak in
the cow (Hixon and Hansel, 1974).
It has been shown that the time
of LH release and ovulation may be controlled more precisely with
synthetic GnHH after PGFgg.
The LH surge should start 15 minutes
after GnRH injection and peak at 150 minutes post injection
(Kaltenbach ej: al. 1974).
j
In this study the average interval to estrus and probably the
LH peak was 51 hr.
Therefore, the LH peak would have already occurred
at 60 hr when the GnRH was given.
This may explain why there was no
significant difference in estrus response at first service conception
in those heifers treated with GnRH.
-57-
The cycling behavior and interval from PGFga treatment to estrus
may have been partially influenced by the unusual weather conditions
for a week prior to, and after the second PGFga injection.
Unseasonable
cold temperatures and about 4 inches of precipitation in the form of
rain and snow occurred at this time.
The heifers were kept in a
muddy lot during this period.
The conception rate for the Al period was not significantly
different among the four treatment groups and the control group
(table 5) even though the treated groups had significantly lowered
fertility on the first service on the basis of the total number bred.
Also, the Al breeding period for the treated group was 25 days as
compared to 38 days for the control group.
The Al conception rate
for the control group may have been higher if they had been inseminated
for a full two cycles (42 to 45 days) because two of the heifers that
returned to estrus came back to estrus shortly after they were moved
to the summer pasture where they were exposed to natural service
breeding.
The heifers in the treated groups were inseminated for at
least two cycles if they were in estrus after the second injection
because they were all inseminated at the start of the Al period and
those that returned were inseminated again within the following
25-day period.
-58
It was expected that the calf birth dates would be later in
treatment groups 3 and 4 than in the controls because of the low
first service conception rate at the single 80 hr insemination.
This would have caused many of these heifers to come in estrus and
be bred at a later time.
Also, insemination in the control group
was started 14 days before the first 80 hr breeding in groups 3 and
4.
Heifers in groups I and 2 also tended to have later calf birth
dates, although they were not significantly different than the controls
(table 7).
This trend was probably caused by the same factors as
those given for treatment groups 3 and 4 being significantly later
than the controls.
It was also logical that the average birth date for the Hereford
sired calves was later than those for either the Black Angus or Red
Angus sired calves.
The Hereford bulls were not used until after the
Al breeding season, when the Black Angus or Red Angus bulls were used.
The fact that the Hereford sired calves were significantly
lighter at weaning weight than either the Black Angus or Red Angus
sired calves both in actual weight and in age adjusted weight was
probably due mostly to the heterosis effect of the crossbred Angus x
Hereford calves.
Some of the weight difference may have also been due
to genetic superiority in the Black Angus and Red Angus bulls over the
Hereford bulls.
CONCLUS I O N S
It is concluded that the two-injection system with PGFgU may be
a practical system of ovulation control. , However, a 10-day interval
between injections may be better than the 11-day interval used in
this study so that animals at day 5 of their cycle at the time of
the first injection may be more likely to be synchronized by the
second injection.
Other systems where.only one injection is used along with a
progestin or an estrous detection period before injection is used,
may prove to be a better method of synchronizing a larger percentage
of the treated animals than systems where double injections are used.
When suckling cows are being synchronized, the use of a single injec­
tion instead of two injections may include more cows in the synchro­
nized group.
The additional ten days may set the synchronization
schedule ahead so that more cows will be cycling at the time of PGF2 a
injection.
Further, the period of time from PGFga treatment to ovulation
may be different in lactating cows and heifers so it may be difficult
to handle them all as one group.
From evidence shown by this study, under practical conditions,
an operator may wish to observe treated animals for estrus after the
second PGFga injection and inseminate only those animals that show
estrus.
It may be practical to inseminate all of the animals that show
estrus at one time and inseminate each animal only once instead of twice.
SUMM A R Y
Ovulation synchronization of Herford heifers with
prostaglandin Fga and GnRH was studied.
The report of the study
was preceded by a comprehensive literature review of estrous
synchronization methods.
Sixty-eight cycling heifers were divided randomly into five
treatment groups.
Groups I through 4 were given 2 injections (ZM)
11 days apart of 30 mg of PGFga-THAM salt (PGFga)•
Groups I and 3
were given 100 ug (IM) of GnEH 60 hr after the second PGFga injection.
Groups I and 2 were inseminated at 72 and 96 hr after the second
treatment and groups 3 and 4 were inseminated once at 80 hr.
Semen
from either a Red Angus or Black Angus sire was used so that deter­
mination of which inseminated settled the heifers could be made.
Group 5 was the control and they were bred at 12 hr after estrus.
Forty of the 56 PGFga treated heifers (71%) showed estrus after
the second injection.
This compares to 91% expected to show estrus
after the second injection based on their previous estrous dates.
The average interval from the first and second PGFga injections to
estrus was 53 and 51 hr, respectively.
Conception at the synchronized breeding in the 72 and 9.6 hr and
80 hr groups was 43 and 14% (P=.04), respectively, for all heifers
bred and 63 and 19% (P=.01), respectively, for those that were
observed in estrus.
The heifers that were inseminated twice at 72
and 96 hr all conceived at the 72 hr breeding except one which
-61-
conceived to the 96 hr breeding.
The first service conception rates
for all heifers bred and those showing estrus were 21 and 32% for
the GnSH groups and 36 and 48% for the no GnSH groups, respectively.
There were no significant differences in conception rates between
the treated heifers bred for 25 days by Al (63%) and the control
heifers bred for 38 days by Al (66%).
The conception rates for
the entire breeding season (Al and 45 days of clean up) were 100,
100, 100, 93, 100% for groups I through 5, respectively.
Average birth dates were significantly later in treatment groups
3 and 4 than in the controls, (P<.05).
There was no significant
difference in.birth dates between the other groups.
The average
birth date for the clean up Hereford sires was significantly later
than those for either the Black Angus or Red Angus sires (Pc.01).
There was no significant difference in birth weight between the
five treatment groups.
The calves sired by the Red Angus bull had
significantly lower birth weights than either the Black Angus or
Hereford sired calves (P<.01).
There was no significant difference in average weaning weight
between the five treatment groups., The Hereford sired calves were
significantly lighter at weaning than either the Black Angus or
Red Angus sired calves.
-62-
The major conclusions drawn from this study were that it may be
better to have a 10 day interval betwee PGF2a treatments as compared
to an 11 day interval, and it is advisable that an operator observe
his treated animals for estrus and inseminate accordingly.
APPENDIX
-64A P P E N D I X TABLE 8.
INTERVALS FROM PREVIOUS ESTRUS T O T R E A T M E N T FOR
TREATMENT GROUP ONE
PGF2a treatment
Heifer No.
3003
Second
First
22*
(H)
10 (E) (H)
3035
7 (E)
3068
I
3075
8 (E)
3097
5 (E)
3108
9 (E)
(H)
9 (E)
3124
26*(E)
(H)
9 (E) (H)
(H)
9 (E)
12 (E)
(H)
9 (E) (H)
16 (E)
3131
I
12 (E)
3183
4
16 (E)
3
3198
32*(E)
3214
7 (E)
(H)
9 (E) (H)
3222
I
(H)
8 (E) (H)
3267
5 (E)
(H)
9 (E) (H)
3284
I
12 (E) (H)
(E)= Those heifers expected to exhibit estrus after PGFga •
(H)= Those heifers observed in estrus within 96 hr after PGF2 a
treatment.
*
It was assumed that an estrus period occurred, but was not
observed in heifers exceeding 21 days.
65A P P E N D I X TABLE
9.
INTERVALS F R C M PREVIOUS ESTRUS TO TR E A T M E N T FO R
TREATMENT GROUP TWO
]PGFga treatment
Heifer No.
Second
First
3021
I
12 (E) (H)
3058
5 (E)
16 (E) (H)
3071
2
13 (E) (H)
3111
15 (E) (H)
9 (E) (H)
3125
15 (E) (H)
9 (E) (H)
3129
11 (E) (H)
8 (E) (H)
3143
3179
16 (E) (H)
5 (E)
20 (E) (H)
3
(H)
18 (E)
3187
7 (E)
3194
7 (E) (H)
8 (E) (H)
3225
9 (E) (H)
9 (E) (H)
3231
2
3264
4
3275
7 (E)
13 (E) (H)
(H)
8 (E)
18 (E) (H)
(E)= Those heifers expected to exhibit estrus after PGFga.
(H)= Those heifers observed in estrus within 96 hr after PGFga
treatment.
-66-
APPENDIX TABLE 10.
_______________
INTERVALS FROM PREVIOUS ESTRUS TO TREATMENT FOR
TREATMENT GROUP THREE
PGF2a treatment
Heifer____________________
__
First___________________Second
3011
23*
*
3025
I
3063
2
13 (E) (H)
3072
5 (E)
16 (E) (H)
3083
9 (E) (H)
8 (E) (H)
3119
20 (E) (H)
9 (E) (H)
3161
10 (E) (H)
9 (E) (H)
(H)
10 (E) (H)
3
3190
6 (E)
17 (E) (H)
3197
I
12 (E)
3209
15 (E) (H)
9 (E) (H)
3226
11 (E) (H)
8 (E) (H)
3232
5 (E)
16 (E) (H)
3250
10 (E) (H)
9 (E) (H)
3279
18 (E) (H)
10 (E) (H)
(E)= Those heifers expected to exhibit estrus after PGF2a •
(H)= Those heifers observed in estrus within 96 hr after PGF2a*
*
It was assumed that an estrus period occurred, but was not
observed in heifers exceeding 21 days.
-67 A P P E N D I X TABLE 11.
INTERVALS FROM PREVIOUS ESTRUS T O TR E A T M E N T F O R
TREATMENT GROUP FOUR
PGFga treatment
Heifer No.
First
Second
3018
6 (E) (H)
9 (E)
3028
7 (E)
0
3076
3087
32*(E) (H)
I
9 (E) (H)
12 (E) (H)
3088
13 (E) (H)
8 (E) (H)
3123
13 (E) (H)
9 (E) (H)
3191
29*(E) (H)
9 (E) (H)
3199
32*(E) (H)
7 (E)
3202
3210
I
13 (E) (H)
2
9 (E) (H)
3228
5 (E)
16 (E) (H)
3255
15 (E)
26*(E) (H)
3269
13 (E) (H)
3296
6 (E)
9 (E) (H)
2 (E)
(E)= Those heifers expected to exhibit estrus after PGF2 a.
(H)= Those heifers observed in estrus within 96 hr after PGF2 a
treatment.
*
It was assumed that an estrus period occurred, but was
not observed in heifers exceeding 21 days.
-68 A P P E N D I X TABLE 12.
LEAST SQUARES AN A L Y S I S OF V A R I A N C E F O R CALF TRAITS
Source
of
variation
df
Total
59
Treatment
Sex
Sire
Error
4
I
2
51
Birth date
(day of year)
384*
38
8349**
139
Birth wt.
(kg)
Weaning wt.
(kg)
12.6
41.3**
68.6**
7.4
177.1
449.2
11559.5**
419.2
*P<.05.
**P<.01.
APPENDIX TABLE 13.
LEAST SQUARES ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE FOR CALF TRAITS
WITH BIRTH DATE AS A COVARIATE
Source
of
variation
df
Total
59
Treatment
Sex
Sire
Birth date (regression)
Error
4
I
2
I
50
*P<.05.
**P<.01.
Birth wt.
(kg)
Weaning wt.
(kg)
7.0
45.4*
31.4*
18.9
7.3
236.3
300.0
974.8
2748.4**
372.7
LITERATURE CITED
Avery, T . L., C. L . Cole and E . F. Graham. 1961. Investigations
associated with the transplantation of bovine ova. I.
Synchronization of oestrus. J. Reprod. Fert. 3:206.
Ayalon, N. and S. Marcus. 1975. Estrus synchronization and conception
rate in dairy cattle treated with progestin-impregnated vaginal
sponges. Theriogenology. 3:95.
Babcock, J. C. 1966. In Hansel, W. Luteotrophic and luteolytic
mechanisms in bovine corpora lutea. In ovarian regulatory
mechanisms. J. Reprod. Fert. Suppl. 1:47.
Binder, D., J. Bowler, E. D. Brown, N. S . Crossley1 J. Hutton, M.
Senior, L. Slater, P. Wilkinson and N. C. A. Wright. 1974.
16-Aryloxyprostaglandins: a new class of potent luteolytic
agent. Frost. 6:87.
Burrell, C., J. N. Wiltbank, D. G. LeFever and G. Rodeffer.
Ear implant (SC21009) for estrous control in heifers.
Proc. West. Sec. Amer. Soc. Anim. Sci. 23:547.
1972.
Caldwell, B. V., L. E. A. Rowson, R. M. Moor and M. F. Hay. 1969.
The utero-ovarian relationship and its possible rple in
infertility. J. Reprod. Fert. Suppl. 8:59.
Garrick, M. J. and J. N. Shelton. 1966. The synchronization of
oestrus in cattle with progestagen-impregnated intravaginal
sponges. J. Reprod. Fert. 14:21.
Chakraborty, P. K., R. H. Kliewer and F. Hisaw, Jr. 1971. Synchron­
ization of estrus, reproductive performance and lactational
response of Holstein heifers treated with melengestrpl
acetate. J. Dairy Sci. 54:1866.
Christian, R. E. and L. E. Casida. 1948. The effects ef pregesterone
in altering the estrous cycle of the cow. J . Anim. Sci. 7:540.
Convey, E. M. 1973. Neuroendocrine relationships in farm animals:
a review. J . Anim. Sci. 37:745.
Cooper, M. T. 1974. -Control of oestrus cycles of heifers with a
synthetic prostaglandin, analogue. Vet. Rec. 95:200.
/
-70-
Curl , S. E., W. Durfey, R. Patterson and D. W. Zinn. 1968. Synchroni­
zation of estrus in cattle with subcutaneous implants. J. Anim..
Sci. 27:1189 (Abstr.).
Dhindsa, D. S ., A. S. Hoversland and E. P. Smith. 1967. Estrous
control and calving performance in beef cattle fed 6-methyl-17 acetoxyprogesterone under ranch conditions. J. Anim. Sci 26:167.
Dobson, H., M. J. Cooper and B. J. A. Furr. 1975. Synchronization
of oestrus with ICI 79,939, an analogue of PGF2 a and associated
changes in plasma progesterone, oestradiol-17g,. and LH in
heifers. J. Reprod. FerL. 42:141.
Dziuk, P. J., C. 'Cmarik and T. Greathouse. 1966. Estrus control
in cows by an implanted progesterone. J . Anim. Sci. 25:1266
(Abstr.).
Fahning, M. L., R. H. Shultz, E. F. Graham, J. D. Donker and H. W.
Mohrenweiser. 1966. Synchronization of oestrus in dairy
heifers with 6a methyl-17a acetoxyprogesterone and its effect
on. conception rate. J. Reprod. Fert. 12:569.
Foote, W. D. 1974. Cattle. In E. S. E. Hafez (Ed.) Reproduction
in Farm Animals. (3rd Ed.). Lea and Febiger, Philadelphia.
Graves, C. N. and P. J. Dziuk. 1968. Control of ovulation in dairy
cattle with human chorionic gonadotrophin rafter treatment with
6a -methyl-17a -acetoxyprogesterone. J. Reprod. Fert. 17:169.
Graves, N. W., T. G. Dunn, C. C. Kaltenbach, R. E. Short and J. B. Carr
1975. Estrus and ovulation with prostaglandin F2a , norgestamet,
and gonadotrophin releasing hormone. Proc. West. Sec. Amer.
Soc. An ini. Sci. 26:193.
Graves, N. W., R. E. Short, R. D. Randel, R. A. Bellows, C. C.
Kaltenbach and T. G. Dunn. 1974. 'Estrus and pregnancy following
MAP, PGF2O , and GnRH. J. Anim. Sci. 39:208 (Abstr.). '
Greenstein, J. S., R. W. Murray and R. C. Foley. 1958. Effect of
exogenous hormones on reproductive processes of the cycling
dairy heifer. J. Dairy Sci. 41:1834 (Abstr.).
Hafs, H. D., T. M Louis, P. A. Noden and W. D. Oxender. 1974.
Control of the estrous cycle with prostaglandin Fga ih cattle
and horses. J. Anim. Sci. 38:10 (Suppl. I),.
-71-
Hafs5 H. D.5 J . G . Mans and G . E . Lemming. 1975. Fertility of cattle
from Al after PGF2a • J . Anim. Sci. 41:355 (Abstr.)„
Hansel, W., P. W. Concannon and J. H. Lukaszewska. 1973. Corpora
lutea of large domestic animals. Biol, of Reprod. 8:222.
Hansel, W., L. E. Donaldson, W. C. Wagner and M. A. Brunner. 1966.
A comparison of estrous cycle synchronization methods in beef
cattle under feedlot conditions. J. Anim. Sci. 25:497.
Hansel, W. and P . V. Malven. 1960. Estrus cycle regulation in beef
cattle by orally active progestational agents. J. Anim. Sci.
19:1324 (Abstr.).
Hansel, W., P. V. Malven and D. L. Black. 1961. Estrous cycle
regulation in the bovine. J. Anim. Sci. 20:621.
Hansel, W., R. J. Schechter, P. V. Malven,. K. R. Simmons, D. L. Black,
A. J. Hackett and R. R. Saatman. . 1975. Plasma hormone levels
in 6-methyI-17-acetoxyprogesterone (MAP) and estradiol benzoate
(E2B) treated heifers. J. Anim. Sci. 40:671.
Harvey, W. R. 1960. Least-squares analysis of data with unequal
subclass numbers. ARS 20:8.
Hearnshaw, H., P. E. Mattner, C. D. Nancarrow and B. J. Restall.
1974. The effect of the mode of administration of prostaglandin
F2Ct on the synchronization of oestrus in cattle. J. Reprod.
Fert.- 36:486.
Heersche, G., Jr., G. H. Kiracafe, R. M. McKee, D. C. Davis, and
G . R. Brower. 1974. Control of estrus in heifers with PGF2ct
and Syncro-Mate B. J . Anim. Sci. 38:225.
. .
Henderson, K. M., and K. P. McNatty. 1975. A biochemical hypothesis
to explain the mechanism of luteal regression. Prost. 9:779.
Henricks, D. M., J. T. Long, J. R. Hill and J. F . Dickey. 1974.
effect of prostaglandin F2Ct during various stages of the
oestrus cycle of beef heifers. J . Reprod. Fert. 41:113.
The
Hichens, M., D. L. Grinwich and R. R. Behrman. 1974. PGFga induced
loss of corpus luteum gonadotrophin receptors. Prost. 7:457.
-72-
Hill, J . R., D. R. Lamond, D. M. Hendricks, J. F. Dickey and G. D.
Niswender. 1971. The effect of melengestrol acetate (MGA)
on ovarian function and fertilization in beef heifers. Biol,
of Reprod. 4:16.
Hixon, J. E. and W. Hansel. 1974. Evidence for preferential
transfer of prostaglandin Eg# to the ovarian artery following
intrauterine administration inccattle. Biol, of Reprod. 11:543.
Inskeep, E. K. 1973. Potential uses of prostaglandins in control of
reproductive cycles of domestic animals. J . Anim. Sci. 36:1149.
Inskeep, E. K., J . A. Welch, M. R. McClung, E. A. Linger and J. 0.
Heishman. 1975. Control of estrus by PGFga and estradiol
Benzoate. J . Anim. Sci. 40:187 (Abstr.).
Kaltenbach, C. C., T-. G. Dunn, T. JS. Kiser, L. R. Corah, A. M. Akbar
and G . D. Niswender. 1974. Release of FSH and LH in beef
heifers by synthetic gonadotrophin releasing hormone. J.
Anim. Sci. 38:357.
Kaltenbach, C. C., G. D. Niswender, D. R. Zimmerman and J. N. WiItbank.
1964. Alteration of ovarian activity in cycling, pregnant,
and hysterectomized heifers with exogenous estrogens. J . Anim.
Sci. 23:995.
King, G. J . and H. A. Robertson. 1974. A two injection schedule .
with prostaglandin Fga for the regulation of the ovulatory
cycle of cattle. Theriogenology. 1:123.
Lambert, P. W., D. R. Griswold, V. A. LaVoie and E. L. Moody. 1975.
Al beef management with prostaglandin Fga controlled estrus.
Proc. West. Sec. Amer. Soc. Anim. Sci. 26:181.
Lantz, W. B., C. W. Kasson, A. L. Slyter and D. R. Zimmerman. 1968.
Synchronization of ovulation in beef heifers. J . Anim. Sci.
27:1193 (Abstr.).
Lauderdale, J. W. 1972. Effects of PGFga on pregnancy and estrous
cycle of cattle. J. Anim. Sci. 35:246 (Abstr.).
Lauderdale, J. W. 1974. Distribution and biological effects of
prostaglandins. J . Anim. Sci. 38:22 (Suppl. I).
-73-
Lauderdale, J. W., J . R. Chenault, B. E. Seguin and W. W. Thatcheri
1973. Fertility of cattle after PGFga treatment. J. Anim.
Sci. 37:319 (Abstr.).
Lauderdale, J., W., B. E. Sequin, J. N 1 Stellflug, J. R. Chenault,
W. W. Thatcher, C. K. Vincent and A. F. Loyancano. 1974.
Fertility of cattle following PGFga injection. J. Anim. Sci.
38:964.
.
LaVoie, V. A., G. R. Poncelet, D. K. Han, C. L. Soliday, P. W. Lambert
and E . L. Moody. 1975. Effect of prostaglandin Fga on the
estrous cycle, corpora lutea and progesterone levels of hyster­
ectomized cows. J. Anim. Sci. 41:166.
Liang, L. K. P. and 0. T. Fosgate. 1970. Synchronization of estrus
in dairy cattle with 17-alpha-ethyl-19-nortestosterone
(Nilevar). J. Anim. Sci. 31:92.
Liang, L. and 0. T. Fosgate. 1971. Estrus synchronization and
subsequent fertility in dairy cattle treated with, 17-alphaethyl-19-nortestosterone (Nilvar) and 17-alpha-ethynyl-19nortestosterone (SC4640). J. Anim. Sci. 33:96.
Liehr, R. A., G. B. Marion and H. H. Olson. 1972. Effects of prosta­
glandin on cattle estrous cycles. J. Anim. Sci. 35:247 (Abstr.)
Loeb, L. 1923. The effect of extirpation of the uterus on the life
and function of the corpus luteum in the guinea pig. Proc.
Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 20:441.
Louis, T. M., H. D. Hafs and D. A. Morrow. 1972a. Estrus and ovula­
tion after uterine PGFga in cows. J. Anim. Sci. 35:247 (Abstr.)
Louis, T. M., H. D. Hafs and D. A. Morrow. 1972b. Estrus and ovula­
tion after PGFga in cows. J. Anim. Sci. 35:1121 (Abstr.).
Loy, R. G., R. G. Zimbelman and L. E. Casida. 1960. Effects of
injected ovarian Hormones on the corpus luteum of the estrual
cycle in cattle. J. Anim. Sci. 19:175.
McCracken, J. A., M; E. Glew and R. J. Scaramuzzi. 1970. Corpus
luteum regression induced by prostaglandin Fga . J . Clin.
Endocr. Metab. 30:544.
-74-
McLaren, A. 1974. Fertilization, cleavage and implantation. In. E.S.E.
Hafez (Ed.) Reproduction in Farm Animals. (3rd Ed.) Lea and
Febiger, Philadelphia.
Melampy, R. M. and L. L . Anderson. ' 1968. Role of the uterus in corpus.
Iuteum function. J. Anim. Sci. 27:77 (Suppl. I).
Nellor, J. E., J . E . Ahrenhold and R. H. Nelson. 1960. Influence of
oral administration of 6-methyl-17-acetoxyprogesterone on
follicular growth and estrous behavior in beef heifers. J. Anim.
Sci. 19:1331 (Abstr.).
Nellor, J. E . and H. H. Cole. 1956. The hormonal control of estrus
and ovulation in the beef heifer. J. Anim. Sci. 15:650.
Nelms., G. E . and W. Combs. 1961. Estrus and fertility in beef cattle
subsequent to the oral administration of 6-methyl-17-acetoxyprogesterone. J. Anim. Sci. 20:975 (Abstr.).
Niswender, G. D., T. M. Nett and A. M. Akbar. 1974. The Hormones of
Reproduction. In. E.S.E. Hafez (Ed.) Reproduction in Farm Animals.
(3rd Ed.). Lea and Febiger, Philadelphia.
O'Grady, J. P., E. I. Kohorn, R. H. Glass, B. V. Caldwell, W. A. Brock
and L. Speroff. 1972. Inhibition of progesterone synthesis
in vitro by prostaglandin Fg^. J. Reprpd. Fert. 30:153.
Pharris, B. B. 1970. The possible vascular regulation of luteal
function. Perspect. Biol. Med. 13:434.
Roche, J. F. 1975. Control of time of ovulation in heifers treated
with progesterone and gonadotrophin releasing hormone. J. Reprpd.
Fert. 43:471.
Roche, J. F. 1974a. Effect of short-term progesterone treatment on
oestrus response and fertility in heifers. J. Reprod. Fert. 40:433.
Roche, J. F. 1974b. Synchronization of oestrus in heifers with implants
of progesterone. J. Reprod. Fert. 41:337.
Roche, J. F. 1974c. Synchronization of oestrus and fertility following
artificial insemination in heifers given prostaglandin F^^.
J. Reprod. Fert. 37:135.
-75-
Roche, J. F . and J. P. Crowley. 1973. The fertility of heifers
inseminated at predetermined intervals following treatment
with MGA and HCG to control ovulation. J. Reprod'. Fert.
35:211.
Roussel, J. D. and J. F. Beatty. 1969. Effect of melengestrol
acetate on synchronization of estrus, subsequent fertility,
and milk constituents of lactating dairy cows. J;. Dairy.
Sci. 52:2020,
Roussel, J. D . , J. F. Beatty and T. L. Smith. 1969. Synchronization
of estrus in dairy heifers with melengestrol acetate. J. Dairy
Sci. 5.2:905 (Abstr.).
Rowson, L. E. A . , R. Tervit and A. Brand. 1972. The use of prostaglandins.for synchronization of oestrus in cattle. J. Reprod.
Fert. 29:145 (Abstr.).
/
.
’
...
Shelton, J. N. and L. E . Casida. 1970. The effect of injected
ovarian steroids on ovarian and pituitary function in the
heifer. • Biol. of Reprod. 2:63.
Shimizu, H., Y. Toyoda, S. Takeuchi, T. Kawai and S . Adachi. 1967.
Synchronization of. oestrus and subsequent fertility of beef
cattle following the intravaginal administration of gestagen.
J. Reprod. Fert. 13:555.
|
.,I
Short, R. V. 1972. Role of hormones in sex cycles. In. C. R.
Austin and R. V. Short (Ed.) Reproduction in Mammals #3
Hormones in Reproduction. Cambridge University Press.
Smith, L. W. and R. G. Zimbelman. 1968. Control of ovulation in
cattle with melengestrol acetate. IV. ' The effects of inducing
ovulation with oestradiol cypionate on conception rate.
J. Reprod. Fert. 16:81.
Snedecor, G. W. and W,. G. Cochran. 1967. Statistical Methods
(6th Ed.) Iowa State Univ. Press, Ames, Iowa.
Speroff, L. and P. W. Ramwell. 1970; Prostaglandins in reproductive
physiology. Amer. J. Obstet. Gynec. 1111.
...
Sreenan, J . 'M. 1975. Effect of long- and short-term intravaginal
protestagen .treatments in synchronization of oestrus and
fertility in heifers. J. Reprod. Fert. 45:479.
.I
^
76
-
Sreenan, J. M. and P. Mulvehill. 1975. The application of long- and
short-term progestagen treatments for oestrous cycle control
in heifers. J. Reprod. Fert. 45:367.
Stellflug, J. N., T. M. Louis, H. D. Hafs and B. E. Seguin. 1975.
Luteolysis, estrus and ovulation and blood prostaglandin F after
intramuscular administration of 15, 30, or 60 mg. prostaglandin
Fgu. Frost. 9:609.
Stellflug, J. N., T . M. Louis, B. E . Seguin and H. D. Hafs. 1973.
Luteolysis after 30 or 60 mg. PGFgot in heifers. J. Anim.
Sci. 37:330 (Abstr.).
Tervit, H. R., L. E . A. Rowson and A. Brand. 1973. Synchronization
of oestrus in cattle using a prostaglandin Fgot analogue
(ICI 79,939). J. Reprod. Fert. 34:179.
Trimberger, G. W. and W. Hansel. 1955. Conception rate and ovarian
function following estrus control by progesterone injections
in dairy cattle. J. Anim. Sci. 14:224.
Ulberg, L . C., R. E . Christian and L. E. Casida. 1951. Ovarian
response in heifers to progesterone injections. J. Anim. Sci.
10:752.
Ulberg, L. C. and C. E. Lindley. 1960. Use of progesterone and
estrogen in the control of reproductive activities in beef
cattle. J. Anim. Sci. 19:1132.
Van Blake, H., M. R. Brunner and W. Hansel. 1962. Estrous cycle
synchronization in cattle. J. Dairy Sci. 45:1577 (Abstr.).
Van Black, H., M. R. Brunner and W. Hansel. 1963. Use of 6-chloro
a 6,-dehydro-17-acetoxyproges terone (CAP) in estrous cycle
synchronization of dairy cattle. J. Dairy Sci. 46:459.
Van Niekerk, C. H., P. C. Belonje and J. C. Morgenthal. 1974.
Oestrus synchronization in cattle using progesterone and
a PGF analogue. Theriogenology 2:73.
Wagner, J. F., J. W. McAskill and T. M. Means. 1963. Synchronization
of estrus in the bovine. J. Anim. Sci. 22:866 (Abstr.).
-77"-
Wagner, J. F., E . L. Veenhuizen, R. P. Greagory and L. V. Tonkinson.
1968. Fertility in the beef heifer following treatment
with G-ChloroAti-I? acetoxyprogesterone.
J. Anim. Sci. 27:1627.
Welch, J. A., A. J. Hackett, C. J. Cunningham, J. 0. Heishman, S.. P.
Ford, R. Nadaraja, W. Hansel and E. K. Inskeep. 1975. Control
of estrus in lactating beef cows with prostaglandin Fga and
estradiol benzoate. J. Anim. Sci. 41:1686.
Whitman, R. W., J. N. Wiltbank, D. G. LeFever and A. H. Denham. 1972.
Ear implant (SC21009) for estrous control in cows. Proc. West.
Sec. Amer. Soc. Anim. Sci. 23:280.
Willett, E. L. 1950. The fertility of heifers following administra­
tion of progesterone to alter the estrual cycle. J. Dairy Sci.
33:381 (Abstr.).
Wiltbank, J. N. and L. E. Casida. 1956. Alteration of ovarian
activity of hysterectomy. J. Anim. Sci. 15:134.
Wiltbank, J. N., J. E . Ingalls and W. W. Rowden. 1961. Effects of
various forms and levels of estrogens alone or in combinations
with gonadotropins on the estrous cycle of beef heifers.
J. Anim. Sci. 20:341.
Wiltbank, J. N. and C. W. Kasson. 1968. Synchronization of estrus
in cattle with an oral progestational agent and an injection
of an estrogen. J. Anim. Sci. 27:113.
Wiltbank, J. N., B. P. Shumway, W. R. Parker and D. R. Zimmerman.
1967. Duration of estrus, time of ovulation and fertilization
rate in beef heifers synchronized with dihydroxyprogesterone
acetophenide. J. Anim. Sci. 26:764.
Wiltbank, J. N., J. C. Sturges, D. Wideman, D. G. LeFever and L. C .
Faulkner. 1971. Control of estrus and ovulation using
subcutaneous implants and estrogens in beef cattle.. J. Anim.
Sci. 33:600.
Wiltbank, J. N., D. R. Zimmerman, J. E. Ingalls and W. W. Rowden.
1965. Use of progestational compounds alone or in combination •.
with estrogen for synchronization of estrus. J. Anim. Sci. 24:990.
-78-
Wishart, D. F. 1974. Synchronization of oestrus in cattle using
a potent progestin (SC21009) and PGF2 «. Theriogenology 1:87.
Wishart, D. F. and B. D. Hoskin. 1968. Synchronization of oestrus
in heifers using intra-vaginal pessaries impregnanted with
SC-9880 and PMSG. J. Reprod. Fert. 17:285.
Wishart, D. F. and I. M. Young. 1974. Artificial insemination of
progestin (SC21009)-treated cattle at predetermined times.
Vet. Rec. 95:503.
Woody., C . 0. and F. B. Abenes. 1975. Regulation of ovarian function
in Holstein heifers with SC21009 implants and estradiol valerate.
J. Anim.. Sci. 41:1057.
Woody, C. 0., N. L. First and A. L. Pope. 1967. Effect of exogenous
progesterone on estrous cycle length. J. Anim. Sci. 26:139.
Woody, C. 0. and 0. J. Ginther. 1968. Effect of exogenous proges- .
terone on corpora lutea in unilaterally hysterectomized heifers.
J. Animv Sci. 27:1387.
Woody, C . 0. and R. A. Pierce. 1974. Influence of day of estrous
cycle at treatment on response to estrous cycle regulation
by norethandrolone implants and estradiol valerate injections.
J. Anim. Sci. 39:903.
Young, A. W., N. W. Bradley and L. V. Cundiff. 1967. Effects of an
oral progestogen on feedlot heifers. J. Anim. Sci. 26:231
(Abstr.).
ZimbeIman, R. G. 1963. Determination of the minimal effective dose
of 6a-methyI-17a-acetoxyprogesterone for control of the
estrual cycle of cattle. J. Anim. Sci. 22:1051.
ZimbeIman, R. G. and L. W. Smith. 1966. Control of ovulation in
cattle with melengestrol acetate. J. Reprod. Fert.. 11:185.
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES
3 1762 100 4644 6
H378
K622
cop.2
Kinkie, Richard A
Breeding heifers by
appointment with PGF
and GnRH
2
DATE
ISSUED TO
t
Corr^lcXA^ k S, ^
yz% (\locth. Hedtss .CS'
OCT I 4 1!”177*4 SyZi'rrf
t- I W r r h: hficfjPS
) 4###
(SdW
/>8^ /yy-, T'/fV
M t
n
: C''
"fitr, cSTtj
%
/f/ mmWKttf
/3 v 3
r
/u
CS-dv;
—
f
u